Reign of the Undead King
by Higuchimon
Summary: [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.
1. The Hunter

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 1: The Hunter  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,662||story: 2,662  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Silence and shadows hung thick over the forest. Those few nocturnal creatures that moved did so at their own peril. Most had taken care of their business before the night grew too deep.

Not that night ever ended in this shattered world. But there were periods where the darkness thinned a little, enough so that people could see one another without the use of flashlights or torches.

There were children born now who had never known the touch of the sun, and some who didn't remember it at all.

The adults remembered. Most tried not to think about, faced with the grim reality that the sun might never shine again. _He_ didn't want it to, and _he_ had had matters his way for ten years now.

Everything that happened in this world and the other happened because of _him_. Of _them_. The two unquestioned, unchallenged rulers of two worlds.

Once there had been those who fought them. Stories still gusted and whispered about them, murmured only where it was felt no one could hear them. That wasn't always true. But those who fought had failed and worlds suffered for it.

Footsteps scurried along through piles of fallen leaves. A soft voice gasped in a vain attempt to catch his breath.

_Where…where is he? Where are they?_ Large eyes turned this way and that in a vain attempt to find answers. No one saw _them_ until and unless they wanted it to happen. Especially when the person who looked was the target of the hunt.

He leaned against a tree, fingers clutching the bark for support, breathing hard. He wished he didn't have to. It would draw them to him. He didn't think he had a chance to escape anyway, but he wanted to pretend, if only for a few more moments.

No one escaped them when they hunted. They always brought their prey to ground.

Was that a movement? He stared at where he thought he'd seen it, drawing in deep breaths, not caring how loud they were so long as he had air in his lungs. He needed that to run.

In the beginning, he'd tried to have some kind of a plan. If he could just avoid them for long enough, he could get away. He would be _safe_.

He should've known better. No one was safe in this world anymore.

Silver-white mist ghosted up, and his heart plummeted, his mouth drying up. No. No, this _couldn't_ be, he'd barely had time to do anything, why did they have to find him _now_?

He broke. Legs pumping, hands yanking cobwebs and tree branches and leaves out of his way as he surged to one side, away from the creeping hands of fog that bespoke _his_ arrival.

The prey didn't care about finding a way out to whatever vague, hinted at sanctuary might exist beyond their borders. All he cared about now was surviving another few moments.

He ran. He didn't think; thinking was for people, not for prey. He remembered _his_ words now, clear and sharp as a knife in his heart.

_Run as long as you like. Run as fast as you may. Run as far as you wish. But in the end, you will fall._

He hadn't wanted to believe it. He knew this had happened before, multiple times over the last decade. Rumor had it that the leader of those who'd once fought against the Undead King had been the first. He'd never put any real stock in those rumors, but now the idea thrummed hard behind his eyes.

If Yagami Taichi fell before the master of the world, then what chance did _he_ have?

Fog swirled before him and he jerked himself out of the way of it. If he could stay out of the fog, then perhaps he would be safe. Perhaps…

He thudded directly against a powerful man-shaped _thing_ and didn't care that he whimpered in terror. Blue eyes looked down at him, pale thin lips curved upward into a mockery of a smile.

"The hunt is over."

Other figures came from the fog; the rest of the Undead King's pack, he knew. They could do nothing to him, however. Lord Vamdemon brought him to bay; therefore, by the laws of the hunt as he'd heard them before he was released, he belonged to the overlord.

"You always win, Vamdemon-sama." There was the faintest hint of a pout in the words as the vampire king gathered his prey up in one hand and bent his head to the side.

He didn't want to hear any more of this. He wanted all of it to end. His chest ached; his legs throbbed from how fast he'd run. He'd lived for years knowing that he could die at a vampire's teeth. Now that it was about to happen, he wanted it to _end_.

The bite, when it came, was quick. If one good thing could be said about the Undead King, it was that he dealt with his meals quickly once he brought them to ground. The torment always came before that. Once caught, he finished it all in moments.

Tonight's prey was no different.

* * *

Vamdemon licked his lips clean of the last traces of blood. This one wasn't as well-fed as some meals he'd enjoyed in the past, but that wasn't unexpected. Humans weren't as well off as they'd been ten years ago, at least not the ones that he had access to.

He dropped the carcass to the ground and gestured toward DeviDramon. "Get rid of that. He's not worth bringing back."

"Yes, sir!" DeviDramon, who had once been his most loyal servant PicoDevimon, dragged the body away. Vamdemon never asked what became of those whom he chose not to raise again. He didn't really care to know.

Instead, he looked toward the rest of his pack. There weren't many of them, only about half a dozen. He was quite selective about those who followed him. His alliance with Piemon gave him access to the finest of options, as well. He could afford being choosy.

"Have you fed tonight?" Though his pack always ran with him when he hunted, most knew well enough they stood no chance of bringing down the prey, and took care of their needs beforehand.

"Yes." The one who'd spoken before of his victory nodded quickly. "I did, at least."

His gaze fell on the others, most of who agreed they'd fed. Only one shrugged, and he wasn't surprised at whom it was.

"I thought I had a chance." The brunet hadn't changed very much in the last decade. His loyalty to his master was unquestionable, of course, but his attitude remained much the same.

"Then go." Vamdemon didn't wait around to see him leave, but lifted into the air, followed by the rest of the pack. The night was young still and he had free time ahead of him. He didn't bother with the petty details of ruling; that was what people more suited to it were for.

So, he indicated for the pack to return to the mansion and occupy themselves in some useful fashion, while he set his course for the gateway. Few beings other than himself or Piemon dared to cross through this without permission. The guards on it never gave him so much as a look. The Undead King, the one who ruled this world without question, could do as he pleased.

Nor did the guards on the other side look at him in anything but devout fear and abject worship. He paid them no mind, turning his steps to where he knew Piemon would be.

The clown Digimon stood watching two of his servants sparring back and forth. Beside him stood his favorite minion, masked and silent as always. Vamdemon thought at times he couldn't even remember what the boy had once looked like. Not that it mattered anymore.

"And how has your night been?" Piemon didn't look up as Vamdemon came to stand beside him.

"Not as interesting as some." Vamdemon admitted, watching as the servants fought with tooth, claw, and special attacks. Whoever came out on top would be considered for a promotion. Whoever failed would return to being an egg.

Rising in Piemon's ranks required an ability and a willingness to kill that grew more and more common with each passing day in his dominion. Perhaps that was why his chief enforcers were those who'd once stood against him. They knew how to kill to survive.

Piemon watched the two battling it out, a thoughtful tilt to his head. "You had a hunt tonight, didn't you?"

Vamdemon only shrugged; he hadn't come to discuss dinner. "Have you found any trace of Gennai yet?"

For ten years the old man had hidden from them. There were others who hadn't been seen in that time as well, though if they had joined him or if they'd fallen victim to the Chosen or the Dark Masters as they'd extended Piemon's grip on the Digital World no one knew. Getting answers out of the Chosen wasn't always easy, even for their masters.

"Nothing as of yet. But Koushirou is tracing down some interesting leads, or so he told me." Piemon's lips twitched a fraction. "He and MugenDramon work well together."

"So I've noticed." Vamdemon spared a small glance for the silent blond next to Piemon. "Is there anything else that we need to take care of?"

"Not at the moment." Piemon leaned forward as one of the sparring warriors below sliced through the armor of the other, who fell back, dark ichor spewing from the wound. "I think this is it." Vamdemon watched as well; he always enjoyed a good show, and Piemon put on some of the best. The loser raked one last time toward the victor, who kicked her opponent away with a scornful glare. In moments, she was the only one who stood in the battle arena.

"Well done, Enshoumon." Piemon spoke, his voice carrying easily out there. The warrior Digimon bent her head toward him, features impassive and cold, despite the fiery attacks Vamdemon had seen her using in battle before her final strike. "Return to quarters, you'll be contacted about your promotion in due course."

Vamdemon dismissed the whole battle from his mind as Piemon turned his full attention toward his ally. "We've nearly done it."

"We have done it." Piemon waved one hand carelessly. "Whatever idiocy Gennai dreams up is nothing that we can't deal with. He could call a thousand new Chosen and we would destroy them all as easily as the first."

Vamdemon's lips thinned into a smile. "I do wish he'd try. I haven't fed from someone who could do more than run in too long." The first few years had held glorious hunts, humans who knew how to fight and clung to life desperately in order to keep it. One by one they'd all fallen. A tragedy, if only for the lack of decent meals it gave him.

"I'm certain he will. I've heard rumors." Piemon gestured for him to walk along and the two headed toward the innermost parts of the citadel. "He's been attempting to contact humans through the portal."

"I haven't heard anything about that." So far as he knew, even Gennai would have to approach the portal to communicate across the void of worlds. None of his guards had so much as mentioned anything of the sort.

Piemon's eyes hardened. "He has something in mind, but I can't get the details yet. My spies haven't wormed their way in enough."

"I'll keep a watch out." He had human servants who were skilled in such matters; it was time to put them to use. What good was ruling an entire world if one couldn't use it from time to time?

* * *

He sailed through the dark skies, casting about for anyone that might satisfy his gnawing hunger. He supposed the others were right; he should've fed before the hunt. In the last decade, so few had beaten Vamdemon-sama to the prey in a hunt that it only made sense to do so.

Still, he'd hoped. He'd tried. If the human had turned to the left instead of the right, it would've worked out in his favor.

Well, it hadn't, and he needed to feed. Those were Vamdemon-sama's rules: they all had to feed at least once a day, to avoid the hunger overcoming them. He'd seen it happen once before and it wasn't something he wanted to see again.

So, he coasted along, running his fingers absently through thick clouds, and watching for anyone who might be a good enough meal. Or as good as they were likely to get these days. Humans just didn't have anything good on their bones.

Far below, something moved. He hovered where he was, watching curiously. There weren't really supposed to be any free-range humans in this area, so why…

He moved, guided more by an instinct than by having actually seen anything. Something small and sharp flew by, and he reached out one hand to snag it from the air.

_An arrow?_ A wooden arrow, at that, so clearly not an average hunter. He smiled, fangs glimmering. So someone thought they could play vampire hunter, did they?

He might not have beaten his master to the first prey, but perhaps this prey would be even more rewarding. He hadn't seen someone trying to hunt them in at least seven or eight years. The way he and Vamdemon-sama had torn through the first batch who thought they could end the Undead King's rule had proven how stupid that was.

Swift as he could move, he darted downward, looking for whoever had dared to fire at him. The arrow itself was too new to have a scent on it, but the archer would be there somewhere. Large brown eyes, adapted for nearly a decade to see through the shadows, searched, while his hands scrambled through trees and bushes. He didn't fear a forest; wood needed to penetrate his entire body to have any real effect on him. He would never forget the idiot who thought by luring him into a thicket that he would be weakened or defenseless.

That idiot had made a fine meal at that.

There! His eyes brightened for a moment and he shot closer, silent as a leaf upon the wind. The would-be vampire hunter bit off a few words under his breath and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The vampire didn't know where he was going, but he doubted the other would make it. How could he, with Vamdemon-sama's most skilled hunter on his trail?

Yet the other did seem to know a little more than the vampire thought he would, racing through the trees at a speed few humans could match. He'd clearly put some time in learning how to run away from vampires. A good trick; the pack were the only vampires in this world.

But he couldn't run forever; a clearing up ahead would give the vampire a good chance to grab onto him and then it would be all over but the feeding.

He swooshed ahead, coming down to rest on the far side of the clearing, wanting his prey to at least think that he was safe. It would make it all the more enjoyable once he knew that he wasn't.

He waited…and waited…and waited.

And there was no sign of the hunter. The vampire frowned; he hadn't heard the other running since he'd sped ahead, but he hadn't expected to. Was he somewhere else? Had he turned around and gone the other way?

Thin lips moved into a smile. A prey who knew how to think? To plan? This looked like it could be more interesting than he'd first thought.

Yagami Taichi licked his lips. This would be the best meal he'd had in _years_. All he had to do was find it.

**To Be Continued**


	2. The Resistance

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 2: The Resistance  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,822||story: 5,484  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13 **Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

_Miyako's going to love this._ Daisuke stared after the shape, which would've been only barely visible if he didn't have his new goggles on. As it was, he could see the humanoid form hovering in the sky more or less clearly. A tiny part of his heart, the part that still remembered a boy with a broad smile and goggles of his own showing him how to have fun with a soccer ball, twisted at the sight. He did his best to ignore the memory. _That_ Yagami Taichi died ten years ago. This one would gladly lay his throat open to the bone and drink every drop of blood that came out, if he were lucky.

If he were unlucky, this Taichi would make him like he was, and the last thing Daisuke wanted to do with his life was spend it feeding off other people.

He stayed where he was, not daring to move while the vampire still hung in the sky and searched for him. Vampires were hunters, he recalled his lessons, and like all hunters they could pick up movement easily enough. He'd been lucky to escape so far.

_I bet I could outrun him, though._ Or at least outmaneuver him. He'd seen how fast a vampire could fly and he knew he couldn't run that fast. He wouldn't need to; he'd just need to be able to get somewhere where the vampire couldn't follow. Those places were few and far between these days, sad to say.

Careful inch by inch, he touched his crossbow, wishing that he dared to try to shoot the other again. Taking down Vamdemon's favorite minion would be worth celebrating for _days_.

But one thing Ken had drilled into his head was that you only took one shot, and only when you had safe cover to dive into, just in case you missed. If you did miss, then taking more than one shot gave the vampire a chance to locate you and if you were in that safe cover, it should _stay_ safe. There weren't that many people who were willing to fight against Vamdemon and his legions and they had to keep themselves alive any way that they could.

Daisuke didn't always agree with Ken's point of view on this, but so far they hadn't lost that many people, and so far as they all knew, Vamdemon didn't even know they existed. That gave them more room to work with, and the hope that they could find a way to overthrow him one day.

The whole thought of living in a world of light again sent a thrill all through him. He remembered the sun and moon and stars, of being able to stand outside in the wind without worrying if it would take his scent to a passing bloodsucker, of laughing and having fun with all of his friends. He wanted that kind of a world again.

His teeth ground together faintly. He'd have it. _They_ would have it. He wasn't going to let it not happen. So he couldn't take the shot on Yagami now. That didn't mean he wouldn't get one in the future. He just needed patience.

He didn't like being patient. He wanted to shoot Yagami and get it over with.

Before he could get another bolt out of the case on his back, he tilted his head a fraction at a flicker of movement, and had to bite back a sigh. The vampire had already moved out of range, probably on his way to finding some poor soul who wasn't ready to defend himself. Daisuke ached to go after him, but turned his careful movements back the way he'd came. He was already risking enough leaving a scent trail. They didn't _know_ if a vampire could track them by scent alone, but Ken's rules were clear: better safe than a sucker.

Well, that wasn't how Ken had put it, but Daisuke liked to phrase things to suit himself.

He took his time going through the woods, breaking his trail by crossing over a slow running stream and walking on what remained of an old road to avoid leaving footprints. It wasn't the best he could do, but since he arrived at the entrance to their hideaway with all of his blood safely tucked away inside of him, he counted it a win.

Before lifting the latch, he took one last look around himself, wanting to reassure himself that there weren't any vampires in the area. Nothing looked out of place. Not even a single wild animal moved, which didn't surprise him. Animals tended to stay out of sight when a vampire was on the prowl.

He lifted his eyes to the sky, wondering what he would've seen if all of this had never happened. Would it have been a blue sky today? Or maybe rain?

Thanks to Vamdemon, he'd never know. But he would make certain that this didn't last forever. Even if he had to drive a stake through his heart personally.

* * *

'Lifting the latch' wasn't all that he had to do in order to get through the doorway. Just lifting it enabled a temperature sensor, which checked to make sure he was still giving off the right amount of body heat. Vampires, as they'd all learned the hard way, weren't nearly as warm as humans were. If he'd registered below normal, the door would lock and remain that way until someone who did test properly came to see what was going on.

As it was, the door slid open silently and Daisuke stepped inside, heading for the next test without a moment's hesitation. The sooner he got through all of these, the sooner he could take a shower and get a few hours of sleep before his next training session.

Of course, he'd have a debriefing session before that, which would probably bore him to tears, if not into actual slumber.

"Describe Vamdemon." The voice wasn't one he recognized, but there wasn't anything unusual about that. Whoever was on duty here changed on a regular basis. No one wanted to get so bored with the job they started to do it badly. Door monitor duty was dull as dishwater, but when you were dealing with people coming in from the outside, too necessary to let fail.

"A complete jerk who needs a serious kick to every body part, alphabetically and in order of importance. Twice." That was his registered response; if he were under a vampire's thrall, it was unlikely that he'd give it without a moment's hesitation. "And maybe backwards, just for good measure."

He would've used more creative insults, but Miyako insisted that the responses at least make some kind of sense. He didn't know her reasoning for that, other than to annoy him, but he wasn't going to argue about it. There were more interesting matters he and Miyako argued about.

As soon as he'd given the correct answer, a section of the floor slid away to reveal a long set of steps. Daisuke walked down without hesitation, his destination the elevator at the end of the corridor he found himself in once at the bottom.

Getting into their underground base wasn't easy, at least not for someone who hadn't been tuned into the system almost since the beginning. Newcomers found it kind of overwhelming. Daisuke found he kind of liked the routine. Not that he planned on admitting that.

By the time he arrived in the central planning room, he'd been underground for almost half an hour and in the actual base for fifteen minutes. He'd given three more passwords, had his blood sampled, and a small clipping of his hair taken to make certain he wasn't a Bakemon in disguise.

"Anything worth reporting?" Ken asked the moment that he stepped into the room. Daisuke set his crossbow and case of bolts down on the nearest table. What vague kind of weapons etiquette they'd hashed out over the years indicated that no one went _visibly_ armed while around the others.

"Saw Yagami Taichi." Daisuke threw himself down into the torture device that masqueraded itself as a chair. The moment the words passed his lips, everyone else in the room froze and looked at him. Daisuke enjoyed the attention for a few moments before he kept on talking. "I took a shot at him, but he moved too fast."

Absolute silence reigned for nearly one full second before Miyako slammed her hands down on the table, glaring at him. "You missed? Did he see you?"

A thousand other questions hovered on her lips. He didn't know how she held herself back from throwing them all at him, but he suspected they would come as soon as he answered her.

"I don't think so. He chased me a little, but I lost him."

Iori's eyes narrowed at him. "You didn't outrun him." It wasn't a question. Daisuke shook his head.

"He flew ahead of me, actually. I was a lot closer to a hiding spot than he knew, so I waited until he left, and came back here." He ran one hand along his cheek, knowing how thick the dirt was and how much he needed that shower.

Miyako drummed her fingers against the table. "How did the goggles work?"

Daisuke pulled them off and set them in front of him. "Fine. It was a lot easier to find him than I thought it would be."

She picked them up and started to go over them, checking for any kind of damage. There were scratches and scrapes, he knew, but he didn't think there was anything that needed severe repair.

"Anything else?" Osamu asked, speaking up without looking up from his screen. Most people avoided anything to do with the internet, but he insisted that his blockers kept them from being located. So far, he'd been right.

"Nothing really." Since the main purpose of his trip had been to test the goggles and their ability to pick a vampire out of the shadows by their lower body temperature Daisuke counted that as a success. He'd not really expected to hit whatever vampire he saw with his bolt, but he'd taken the chance when he saw it was Yagami Taichi. Taking out Vamdemon's most ruthless disciple would've been an incredible coup.

Before he thought about it, he'd even said that. Ken shot him a disapproving look. "It would also have told Vamdemon that we exist long before we want him to know. For that matter, what you've done now could do that."

Daisuke groaned, slouching back into his chair. "All they'll know is that someone tried to kill him. They're not going to know that we really exist. It could've been anyone who managed to put together a crossbow. Or buy one. They still sell them, don't they?"

"They're not illegal, but they're not easy to come by." Iori pointed out, his fingers laced together before him. "It might not be a disaster, but we should still be careful on any further trips outside."

"Which we should be anyway." Miyako pointed out, looking up from the goggles.

Daisuke started to say something, when a hand swatted against his head. He caught a glimpse of red hair from the corner of his eye and heaved a sigh. "Hi, Jun. What was that for?"

His sister gave him a firm look. "You were stupid. Someone has to smack you when you're stupid."

"If we got paid, you'd get a bonus for that." Miyako teased. Daisuke rolled his eyes; when those two started, it was better just to let them get it out of their system. He had other things to do.

"I'm going to get cleaned up and get some sleep." He'd deal with getting food once he was able to eat it without falling asleep over his plate.

No one argued with him as he pushed himself to his feet and headed down the cold steel gray corridors until he reached his quarters. They weren't much. The room he remembered he'd had in the family apartment ten years earlier had been larger, but not by much. He had a bed, a table, a chair, and a closet to keep his spare clothes in, what little there were of them. Unlike that room, this one had a small bathroom, which was something Shuu and Shin had insisted on when helping to plan it. Everyone had their own bathroom. Getting the plumbing set up had been a nightmare, but making certain no one had to wait for a shower helped keep tempers just that little more under control.

He felt sorry for them some days, though neither one would've wanted the sympathy. To know that one's brother was on the other side, willingly or not…and no one knew how 'willingly' any of the ex-Chosen were. No one knew anything but the vaguest stories, and since most of those stories had come from the Digimon on the other side, no one knew what to truly believe.

Daisuke kind of hoped they would have a chance to find out the truth one day.

* * *

Osamu kept his attention on his screen, eyes flickering over the information he was digging out of the archives. Not all of it made sense just yet; some of it would have to be decrypted before they could put it to any use.

A message popped up; one from one of his lesser informants. Nothing very important, just the movements of some supplies that needed to be diverted from one of Vamdemon's outposts to their use. He shot off a quick note to have someone deal with it.

His shift was almost over, but he didn't slow down for a moment. All of this needed doing, and he counted himself the best person to take care of it at all.

A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up into violet eyes much like his own. "You're not going to overwork tonight." Ken's voice held an edge of gentleness that very few ever heard from him. Osamu managed a small fraction of a smile, one that he seldom could work up. There was too much work to do to smile.

"You won't let me, will you?" "Should I?" Ken's expression hardened a fraction and Osamu knew the only answer that Ken would ever allow him to make. Instead of saying anything else, he started to close down everything. His replacement would have her own work and her own contacts to deal with. Those who contacted him knew when his shift ended and if it were important, they had ways to get in touch with him.

Sometimes he wondered just who it was on the other end of the screen. He'd never met any of them. It was better if they didn't know more than the basics about one another, just in case anything happened. Some of his contacts were in Vamdemon's army, and if he or any of his loyal servants suspected, it would put this small rebellion at risk.

Each of their shifts ended at different times; that was to keep everything from being too routine, so their minds didn't get cluttered and sludgy. But Ken insisted on his and Osamu's ending at the same time, bar any sort of emergency, because he flatly refused to let his older brother sit at the screen constantly, which he _would_ do if someone didn't pull him away from it. And the only person Osamu would listen to about getting some sleep was Ken himself.

Ken stood back, arms folded over his chest as Osamu stood up, his legs wobbling a little. He hadn't moved in too long, he realized, and he thought he'd skipped a meal as well. Ken usually noticed, but he'd been busier than usual today, with Miyako fiddling with a couple new devices and Daisuke out testing the new goggles.

"Dinner first." Ken bit the words off, jerking his head toward the exit. Osamu couldn't help but smile at how much of a mother hen his younger brother could be.

_Mom would be proud of him._ His heart twinged a fraction at the thought, but he didn't let it show on his face. He didn't dare; Ken didn't need that kind of pain in his life, and if he could do nothing else, he could at least make certain Ken didn't hurt like that.

He took one glance around before they left. Miyako still hunched over the table, going over the goggles with a careful cleaning solution. Iori had his own screen up, busy burying himself in his own work. Jun had left shortly after Daisuke did, likely to make certain he had something decent to eat when he got around to waking up. She took care of her brother much the same way that Ken took care of him.

They had to take care of each other. They were all they had.

**To Be Continued**


	3. The Prisoner

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 3: The Prisoner  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,595||story: 8,079  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

She didn't bother opening her eyes a lot of the time. There wasn't much light in here to begin with, so she wasn't missing seeing anything. She could hear everything that happened. Not that much did, not here in Vamdemon's dungeons. Not here, in a cell she'd left a handful of times since being thrown into it.

How long ago had that been? Five years? Six? Seven? She didn't remember anymore. Time belonged to a world with the sun and stars, with friends to care about one, and a fa…

Time meant nothing in here, where the only voice she heard on a regular basis was that of her guard on the rare occasions when she spoke and on an irregular basis, her captor himself.

She hadn't heard from him in a long time. At least, she thought it was a long time.

After all, time meant nothing here.

She could've tried to guess by how often she ate or slept, but even that didn't really work. She was fed irregularly, and she had no way to tell how long she slept. There was just no way.

It had been years, that was all she _could_ be certain of, and that because of one thing that couldn't be changed: she'd grown. Not much, not nearly as much as she would have if she'd lived in a world of light and warmth and abundant food. But the clothes she'd worn on that dreadful day no longer fit and others were brought for her. Though she didn't know why; no one saw her. Still, she didn't complain. Even if no one saw her, she didn't want to sit around in rags, or worse. What she wore wasn't fancy by any means, but they kept her covered and that was enough.

There was enough light here that if she chose to open her eyes, she could see. There wasn't anything to look at, not here. She had a small bed, with only two blankets and a thin mattress, and a pot that passed for sanitary facilities, scrubbed out twice a day by some of the monsters. The dungeon wasn't too cold, but she didn't think that was her benefit. It was just the way that it was. She didn't care to register a complaint.

Footsteps came closer. She didn't bother sitting up. She knew who it was, and she thought she knew why.

"Breakfast." The sound of a tray being set outside of the bars, then slid through the opening. She knew what it would be: water, bread, and porridge. The same breakfast she always had. She vaguely thought of steamed rice, of miso soup and natto. What had she had for breakfast that last morning? She couldn't remember anymore.

A lot of her memories had faded over her years here. What use did she have for most of them? She didn't need to think about anything, because nothing happened. Be it night or be it day, she stayed in this cell. When she got out of it, she didn't have to do anything. She only stood where she was directed, her guard by her side, and watched as monsters paraded around doing…something. She thought it was some kind of a celebration, but she was never entirely sure, and it ceased to matter after a while. Whatever they did didn't require her to think about it or even to understand it. She just had to sit and wait for it all to end.

If her stomach hadn't commanded, she wouldn't have bothered eating as often as she did. She didn't know if there was a reason to stay alive, but she just couldn't bring herself to give up and die. Maybe there were reasons she didn't know about. It wasn't much of a hope, but it was all that she had.

She inched her way over to where the tray rested, finding it more by feel and experience than bothering to open her eyes. Sometimes she kept them closed just to see how long she could do so without _needing_ to open them.

Even without looking, she knew her guard stood there still, as she always did. There wasn't any reason to talk to her. Her guard never hurt her, never even touched her, but there was just nothing for her to say.

Her guard seldom spoke to her, either, save for letting her know when meals arrived or when it was time for her to leave the prison for whatever reason. Though once in a while, other words were said.

Such as the day when the little white cat who had once been her guard didn't turn up anymore, replaced by the guard who stood there now, tall and gray-haired and red-eyed, speaking almost as little as she herself did.

"Tailmon is no more," the new Digimon spoke, her voice striking chords of fear throughout the young captive's soul. "I am LadyDevimon."

LadyDevimon hadn't ever given an explanation on why the other one vanished. She hoped the little cat was all right somewhere. Perhaps she'd run away. A cute creature like that didn't deserve to hang around in a place like this. She hoped that the cat found friends somewhere else. Maybe even a fa…

No, she wouldn't think _that_ word. The word that had even less meaning for her than sunlight or freedom or fresh air. The word that hadn't mean anything since the day she'd opened the door to let a monster in that wore the face of her brother.

She chewed the tasteless bread, letting her thoughts linger on other places and other times, few and far between as they were. Anything that wasn't of that moment, the moment when everything she'd known shattered.

What was the world like outside of here now? She'd been taken out sometime earlier for one of those celebrations or whatever they were and she'd heard something about years. She couldn't remember if anyone said how many or even what they'd meant by it. Sometimes she wondered if she should pay more attention to what was going on around her.

What would be the point, though? She would never be able to escape here and if she couldn't escape, what else would she do with whatever she ended up knowing? Nothing. Nothing at all.

There was so much she'd forgotten, or just didn't bother to think about anymore. Had she forgotten it when she didn't even think about it? When it never crossed her mind? She wasn't sure, and it didn't seem important enough to think about now.

Sometimes she wondered if she'd lost her mind from being in here all this time by herself. Maybe she had. Or maybe it didn't matter.

The porridge was just a touch over lukewarm, enough so she ate it instead of pushing it away. Sometimes it was cold, and she'd passed the food up more than once when it was. It all depended on how hungry she was at the time. They never forced her to eat. It was always up to her.

Eating was the one time of her day that she actually did something. Walking her cell lost all meaning after the first thousand times or so. She did that just so her legs wouldn't forget how to work, and that was usually when she bothered to open her eyes, that and when she ate. Sometimes. Like now.

She didn't bother to look up at her guard. LadyDevimon. She'd done that once and seen the other looking at her with eyes that spoke of pain somewhere deep inside. She didn't want to feel sorry for this monster too, and have her taken away.

She didn't want to think about how the little cat had vanished and was 'no more'. She thought happy thoughts about the cat, because she'd always loved cats, and wanted the best for them.

She tried not to think about Miko. She wanted her parents to have taken good care of her. She wanted…

She wanted more than she would ever have, and she knew better than to start wanting, because the first thing she wanted was to have her _brother back_, and that would never, ever happen.

_He belongs to me now, Child of Light._ His words. His voice, staring down at her, eyes as blue as the sky once was, lip curved to reveal fangs sharper than knives.

The one memory she clung to harder than all the others was of the look on his face when he'd sunk those fangs into her own neck…

_She'd struggled as hard as she could to get away from him, but a child's strength was nothing to him. If she lived, she knew she'd have bruises where his gloved hands gripped her. If she lived. She didn't think she would. Taichi hadn't._

_She tried not to look at where her brother stood, lounging carelessly against the wall, paying little attention to her as compared to watching the monster that prepared to eat her. She'd screamed herself hoarse once already trying to get him to stop whatever he was doing, and he hadn't listened to her at all, and that wasn't Taichi. He always listened. He always cared. He always tried to help her._

_But now he looked bored, as if he wanted to do something more than watch her be shredded._

_The monster pulled her close to him, shoving her head to one side, and those teeth moved, sinking into her neck, and it __**hurt**__, hurt more than she'd ever known something could hurt and she didn't die from it…_

_And then she was on the floor, shaking all over, blood dripping from her neck, hardly able to think or speak._

_"Master? Vamdemon-sama?" Taichi moved closer, all of his attention on the monster and not for his sister. "What's wrong?" "She's the Child of Light. I should've realized…" He shook his head, wiping his mouth, and spat out what she realized now was her blood. "Bring me someone fresh. Someone I can get this taste out of my mouth with." Taichi hurried away, moving as lightly as a feather, and she trembled, heart pounding as those cold blue eyes moved to look down at her._

_"If I can't feed from you, what good are you going to be?" He didn't seem to expect an answer, and she didn't have one to give even if he had. She wanted to get out of here and find her parents, find someone who could explain to her what was going on, and make all of this __**stop**__._

_But she never did._

She scraped every bit of porridge from the bowl, made certain not to leave a single crumb from the bread, and drank the glass of water dry before she pushed the tray back through the bars and moved back over to the bed. She didn't feel like walking just yet, and she'd had enough of looking around the empty room. Her prison had no windows as such; just a set of bars far too high for her to reach no matter how high she reached, which let in a little wind. She wasn't allowed books or music or visitors. It left her with a large amount of unused time on her hands, all day every day. So she did what she always did.

She stretched out, eyes closed, and imagined herself and that cute little white cat and Miko, all together far from this dismal place, walking in the sunlight, unafraid and happy together.

* * *

LadyDevimon carried the tray to the kitchen, leaving it where the Veggimon would clean it up and set the next meal on it whenever that time came. Her meals weren't a regular thing; just enough to make certain she didn't die. Those were Vamdemon-sama's orders, issued after he'd made up his mind to keep the girl captive.

Vamdemon-sama refused to let his prisoner die, even if that would be a blessing. Perhaps especially if that would be a blessing.

LadyDevimon had her own suspicions on why, bolstered by conversations she'd overheard between him and Piemon at various points in the last decade. No one knew everything about the Chosen Children and what they could do, much less the Chosen Child of Light herself. Killing her could've only caused her to revive somewhere else, somewhere where Vamdemon had no control over the situation. Better to keep her where he could watch her.

She didn't have to spend all of her waking hours across from Hikari, though the thought of doing so wasn't such a bad one. Or it wouldn't have been if Hikari were more like she'd been as a child. Some part of her would always be pulled to the Child of Light, and she suspected she knew the reason why.

She wouldn't ever utter her suspicions out loud, and barely liked to think them, lest Vamdemon-sama find out. The identity of the Eighth Digimon interested him to this day almost as much as the identity of the Eighth Child had a decade earlier.

LadyDevimon took one peek into the cell before going back to her own room. She didn't need to; there wasn't any way Hikari could get out of there. Vamdemon kept the key to the cell tucked away only where he knew about it, and the lock itself was all but impossible to pick, and wasn't even where Hikari could reach it. If anyone else wanted to try, they would first have to know the girl even existed, and find their way into his fortress, and through everything else set up to make certain that no one did just that.

What Vamdemon wanted to keep, he kept. He wanted this world and he had it. He wanted to defeat the Chosen, and he'd done just that. She couldn't imagine anyone being able to beat him, not at this point. Not when he and Piemon-sama held the balance of power between them, when four Chosen served him as his undead slaves, the other three lived under Piemon's thumb, and the eighth could scarcely remember her own name.

There would be no epic rescues, no rising from the depths of despair, for this world or for the Digital World. Whatever the humans or the Digimon tried, she knew it was doomed to failure. She knew she should at least be grateful that she could stay close enough to Hikari to watch her without Vamdemon-sama suspecting anything. It was better than being destroyed.

The most she let herself hope for was that Vamdemon would relent and let the girl pass on one day, or that it would somehow happen naturally. It wouldn't save the world, by any means, but it would mean Hikari wouldn't suffer in this prison any longer. She didn't like to hope for that, but it was all she could do.

She chose a book from her shelves and settled herself where she could see if Hikari did anything. Not that she thought the girl would. But if it so happened, she would be able to watch.

If she could've, she would've liked to take Hikari out to fly, just for a little while. One benefit of her permanent evolution to Perfect was her ability to fly freely. Hikari would benefit from the fresh air, such as it was. Perhaps she could even take the girl to the Digital World, which didn't suffer from the shadows the way that this world did.

Those were all dreams that she doubted would ever come true. But those were all the dreams that she had left.

**To Be Continued**


	4. The Spy

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 4: The Spy  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,791||story: 10,870  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Wind tugged at his clothes as he soared through the air, his attention kept sharp and alert for any sort of danger. Human or Digimon, he wasn't very particular about which type, so long as he avoided it. For all of his caution, he didn't feel he had much to worry about; humans tended to avoid Digimon, treating them all as enemies, and there wasn't a Digimon there who didn't know who he was.

Sometimes having the reputation that he did didn't set well with him, but his options were limited. He wouldn't go back to the Digital World, no matter how often Gennai wished him to. He had to keep a watch out for her.

For them, really, now, and it hurt to know how close they were and yet didn't know each other. Not the way that he felt they should have.

Wizarmon landed on a tree branch and looked out over the city. When they'd first arrived in this world ten years earlier, the same view had been bright with lights and alive with people moving all over, no matter the hour. Now only a few select areas, those where Vamdemon's servants and slaves ruled supreme, had the benefits of electricity, and humans who dared to move around did so with the greatest of caution.

Somehow, this all had to end. He'd spent most of the last decade searching for some way to bring that end about and for all of his efforts, almost nothing had changed.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, wondering yet again how all of this happened. He couldn't help but feel it was wrong on some level, but for all of his efforts, he still didn't know how to fix it. He didn't know if it could be fixed.

Standing around here wouldn't do anything, though. He leaped back into the air, eager to continue his patrol. He wasn't searching for anything or anyone in particular at the moment; simply checking to see if everything remained as it should. At least, those were his standard orders from Vamdemon.

Wizarmon liked to interpret them a little differently. If he found something or someone who needed help, he would find a way to give them that help without them realizing that he'd done it. Humans wouldn't _want_ to know that he'd helped him, nor did he want them to know. They needed to fear Digimon, at least for now. It would help them survive if they didn't treat the invaders as potential friends.

One day, he hoped, humans and Digimon could learn to live in peace with one another. But for that to happen, Vamdemon and the Dark Masters would have to be defeated. And for that, they needed…

Well, he didn't know what they needed, only that right now, they didn't have it. He'd thought they needed Chosen Children once upon a time, and had positioned himself in Vamdemon's army in order to help at the right moment. That moment hadn't ever come. Disaster had instead.

Never, ever would he forget the moment when Vamdemon and PicoDevimon, as he'd been then, returned to the castle from some trip or other with a fresh captive in tow. The raw, bloody wound on her neck spoke of what had already happened to her, as did the terror on her unconscious features.

He'd often thought about what might've happened if he'd followed his instincts and rescued her, taking her to Gennai instead of leaving her to rise up again as Vamdemon's follower. Could Gennai have changed her so that she wasn't…like she was now? Vamdemon's obedient and eager servant…

Wizarmon pulled in air through his nose and shoved the thought away as he had countless times before. What was past was past and he needed to focus on how to fix what had happened already, not trying to undo events that happened ten years earlier.

He would need to contact Gennai soon and see if the other had any new information from his side of the gate to report. So far, he himself didn't, and that worried him more than he wanted to admit. He expected the humans to do something more than cower in the shadows. He _wanted_ them to do something more than that. The Chosen – such as they'd been – hadn't been a rare breed, had they?

Perhaps if he tried to communicate more with humans, he could find some willing to do something about Vamdemon. It wouldn't be easy; there were plenty of them who served their new masters without question, and if he revealed his true allegiance, he would be finished in a matter of moments. It was hard enough keeping his loyalties safe from Vamdemon as it was.

But perhaps Gennai could give him a hand there. He'd mentioned a few times that there were 'those he was in contact with', but he'd never specified whether they were human or Digimon. It wouldn't hurt to press a little, especially since he gathered Gennai wanted him to do just that. Exactly why he didn't know. But it wouldn't hurt at all to find out.

"Wizarmon?" He knew that voice and came to a rest on top of the nearest unbroken building as he turned to the speaker.

"Yes?" He didn't like addressing Vamdemon's vampire servants by their names. It reminded him too much of the people they'd once been, especially since none of them had aged since the day of their turning. To see the face of someone who might once have been a friend and who was instead wholly committed to Vamdemon nursed a deep pain in the wizard. "Can I help you?"

The one who'd once borne the Crest of Courage landed next to him, arms folded over his chest. "Have you seen any good prey in the area? I need to eat."

He didn't want to be asked that. "I haven't seen any humans in the area, I'm afraid. They seem to all be under cover tonight."

Yagami Taichi frowned, drumming the fingers of his right hand on his left arm. Wizarmon could still see the ghostly echoes of the boy who'd once led the Chosen in his eyes. He'd never met this one until after he was turned, but he'd heard descriptions, and he knew how the change could alter a person. That boy would hate what he'd become. Wizarmon was certain of it. "I'm _hungry_."

As if that would somehow conjure up someone for him to sink those fangs into. Wizarmon held himself back from saying that, though. He didn't like this at all, but he did what he had to do in order to protect himself, as always.

"As I said, I haven't seen any, but I think you could find some over in the fourth area." Humans used other names for the dividing of the city, once upon a time, but with Vamdemon's arrival and the subsequent battles and raging Digimon attacks, the invaders took to calling districts by names of their own choosing. The fourth area had once been a vast entertainment district, or so Wizarmon guessed from the broken remains of buildings that littered the area. Humans did indeed live there, though few moved around this time of night.

Taichi licked his lips. "I hope so. Master claimed the prize of the hunt tonight."

As if that was anything unusual. Vamdemon had several thousand years on his progeny.

"Good hunting." Wizarmon prepared to take off again, assuming the 'interview', such as it was, was at an end. Taichi shook his head, and Wizarmon brought himself back down. "Yes?"

"There's a hunter out there somewhere." Taichi gestured toward the second area, which encompassed a huge park, or what had once been a park. Without the sun to keep it going, the plants were dying off. "He almost hit me. I think he had a crossbow."

Wizarmon blessed his years of experience in hiding his true emotions. Someone had actually _attacked_ Vamdemon's most trusted vampire servant? The most famous of the Chosen vampires? Someone was actually _fighting back_? Every dream he'd thought dead only minutes earlier sprang up fresh and new in his heart.

"Are you certain it wasn't just an accident?" He did his best to look deeply concerned. After all, if someone were to attack a vampire, they might well try to attack him. They both flew around, and humans couldn't see in the darkness as well as Digimon could. Mistakes could happen.

"I doubt it. Not with a _crossbow_." Taichi rolled his eyes. "I'm going to tell the Master about this when I get home, but I thought you should get a heads-up too."

"Of course, of course. I would have done the same thing." How convenient it was that vampires couldn't read minds. And that he'd learned to lie with a straight face years ago.

Taichi nodded; like everyone else, he completely believed in Wizarmon's loyalty to Vamdemon. He leaped up into the air, hovering for a few moments. "If you see anyone with a crossbow, make sure to take them alive. I could always use a fresh meal and I'm sure Master would have a few questions for them." He flashed his fangs in something that might've been a smile, once up on a time, and soared away.

Wizarmon fought back every scrap of reaction he wanted to have. He knew far too well how sensitive a vampire's hearing could be, and he refused to let even the slightest sound of a sigh escape where the other stood a chance of hearing him.

Yet that hope burned brighter within him, and he took off himself, circling around to the castle. For all intents and purposes he'd finished his patrol already and he looked forward to having a little down time.

At least, after he talked to Gennai and found out what, if anything, the other knew about this sudden appearance of a human with a crossbow.

* * *

Contacting Gennai wasn't always an easy matter, especially since Wizarmon needed to make certain that no one found out he was doing so. He'd only been in touch with the old man for a couple of years, and he knew quite well both of them hadn't told each other everything about what their plans and goals were. He didn't fully trust Gennai and he didn't expect Gennai to trust him. After all, he _was_ one of Vamdemon's warriors, for all intents and purposes.

That didn't stop him from passing along what bits of information he could, and taking what Gennai could give to him. There wasn't much that he could do with said information, but he tucked it all away in hopes that he could one of these days.

_Perhaps now I can._ He let the hope burn bright, but he tried his best to keep it reasonable. For all he knew, Taichi would arrive back at the castle any moment with the crossbow user's head and the whole concept of a resistance would collapse.

He moved his hands quickly over the communicator's controls, sending out the message to Gennai. He couldn't be certain the other would respond right away; he had a lot of his own work to do that wasn't just talking to Wizarmon.

Today luck seemed to be with him, however, as after only a few minutes, the static on the screen resolved into Gennai's ancient features.

"Greetings, Wizarmon." Gennai nodded slightly, his voice pitched low to avoid being overheard by anyone in the area. Wizarmon's quarters were set a little away from everyone else's in the castle, ostensibly because of his need to experiment with magic now and then. No one wanted to interrupt him and suddenly become a talking slime mold that had nothing to do with Raremon.

Even though that had only happened once, and he'd managed to change PicoDevimon back. The little creature – not so little these days, really – hadn't ever forgiven him for that. Wizarmon didn't care; if he could, he would've done it all over again.

"Gennai." Wizarmon nodded back at him, keeping his own voice low. Despite people keeping away from his quarters, he still preferred not to take any chances.

"How are matters on your side?" Gennai got right to the point, something Wizarmon approved of.

"Very little has changed…except one thing, tonight." Wizarmon told him in as few words as possible of what Taichi had told him of the crossbow wielder. "Is this anything that you know about?"

Gennai didn't answer right away, a thoughtful look to his eyes. "Perhaps. I would have to speak to others to be certain. But this could be a very good sign indeed."

Wizarmon made himself fight back the thrill that shot through him. As much as the hope lived, he wanted to keep it under control and not hope _too much_. He didn't want it to shatter, or worse, fade away because nothing more happened.

"What else can you tell me?" As always he chose his words carefully when he asked questions. Sometimes Gennai would answer more fully to some phrasings than to others.

"That I've been in touch with people who have been working to build a resistance network on Earth that will work in tandem with the Digimon I'm organizing here." Gennai met Wizarmon's eyes directly. "They will need a great deal of help that can best come from someone inside Vamdemon's fortress."

And there would likely be help needed from within Piemon's as well, but Wizarmon knew better than to ask about _that_. On the off-chance that anyone uncovered him, the less that he could tell, the better.

And he would tell, if he were caught. Vamdemon would take pleasure in making certain that he did. Which was why he went out of his way to make certain that he didn't give himself away, no matter what he had to do in order to protect his secret.

"What do you expect me to do?"

"It will take some time, but I can set up a meeting between you and…one of the others. You can work out the details between you then. They'll know better than I what you can do together."

For the life of him, Wizarmon couldn't remember ever having met any actual human beings. He didn't count the members of Vamdemon's pack. The thought of doing so sent odd little chills all through him. He'd never felt as if he were missing someone or waiting for someone, but to actually _meet_ a human, and speak to them as an equal, not as a member of an invading army…

He hoped he didn't make too much of a fool of himself.

"Very well." Perhaps, he felt, he should think about this more, but he knew that his decision now would be the same as his decision in a week or a month. They _needed_ to fight against Vamdemon and his allies, and the delay in doing so had only let the vampire and the clown's forces get so firmly entrenched that two worlds would never be the same again.

Gennai nodded in approval. "I'll make certain they know and contact you when we have a specific time and place."

Wizarmon suspected that might take longer than either side agreeing to meet in the first place. Finding a location where everyone could be assured that Vamdemon's forces wouldn't find them could take days, if not weeks. He would have to look up a few places and see what he could suggest. Though with any luck, the humans wouldn't accept wherever he ended up having in mind. Without knowing him, they would be smart to be paranoid.

Not that he wouldn't give whatever locations _they_ suggested a few wary looks of his own, for exactly the same reasons. He had only Gennai's word that these people were working against Vamdemon.

Gennai wasted no more words, but closed off his end of the transmission. Wizarmon slid the device out of sight and crossed over to the small window cut into the wall. It was a sign of his rank that he had such an opening at all, or that it even existed in a vampire's castle, even with the land enshrouded in darkness.

He would have to keep himself occupied until he knew more about this meeting with this possible resistance. Perhaps he could visit…her.

She looked nothing like she once had, and at times he wondered if she even remembered him properly. But it had been quite some time since he'd seen his best friend, and he didn't want to lose track of her entirely.

Besides, if this resistance could accomplish anything, he might end up needing her help as well. Assuming anything remained of his friend to want to help him.

**To Be Continued**


	5. The Past

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 5: The Past  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,534||story: 13,404  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Gennai closed down the communications device and leaned back in his chair, considering the conversation he'd just had. Trusting Wizarmon wasn't a mistake; he knew that down to his bones. The wizard Digimon was no more loyal to Vamdemon than Gennai himself was. But whether or not the humans of the resistance would see it that way was something else altogether. He couldn't predict their reactions. None of them had any real reasons to trust Digimon at all, and he couldn't blame them after the last decade.

But this was something that needed doing. Trust needed to be built and bonds forged between humans and Digimon. He'd hoped that the Chosen would be the ones to do that, bringing them all together. That was what he'd imagined for the future.

_And then Vamdemon screwed it all up._ Not that Piemon hadn't had a hand in it, but it had all begun with Vamdemon. In one moment, without even realizing it, he'd broken a prophecy that he likely hadn't even known existed, and set the course of two worlds skittering down the path to ultimate destruction.

Well, now Gennai would have to come along and put everything back together the best that he could. At least he had people who could help him, on both sides of the gateway.

Even if most of them weren't ones that should've had a hand in this. As much as he didn't like it, he had to work with what he'd been given.

He rose to his feet, wincing at the pains in his shoulders and sides. His injuries had mostly healed already, but the scars pained him still. He wasn't as young as he'd once been, and Piemon took great care to remind him of that fact whenever their paths crossed.

Those crossed more often than he would've liked anyway. At least it enabled him to keep an eye on Takeru, Yamato, and Koushirou as they grew up, even if he couldn't get them away from him. He'd tried. He'd lost count of how often he'd tried. Piemon remained three steps ahead of him from the beginning.

Now wasn't the time to reflect on that, though. He could handle them another time, when this monstrosity of a war had ended and Piemon _couldn't_ remain three steps ahead of him because he wouldn't be there anymore.

He'd already contacted Osamu for the night, and if his judgment of the human cycles was correct, the young man would've already gone to bed. He would have to wait another day before letting him know what was going on. That was all to the good; he needed time to put all of this into a way that would encourage the resistance to accept what he offered anyway.

Every step wearier than he wanted, Gennai moved from the communications room to the main room of his underground home. Despite his best efforts, Piemon still couldn't find this place, and Gennai made certain of that by any number of ways. He didn't have much, but if this place was ever discovered, it would put paid to the slow growing rebellion in two worlds.

"Gennai?" He looked over to see Leomon there, having just entered from the training area side of the house. "You spoke with him?"

"Yes." Gennai nodded; Leomon knew most of his plans and had helped to forge almost all of them. He liked nothing at all about what had happened to those human children he called his friends, be it the ones Vamdemon mastered or the ones Piemon brought up in his own evil ways.

Leomon nodded; they'd discussed for days the chances of getting Wizarmon to work with the humans' resistance movement. "Do you think any of them could be suitable?"

"I don't know." Gennai glanced toward his research room; he'd spent most of his spare hours trying to find a way to bond humans and Digimon together in different ways from what he'd done before. "I don't even want to ask them about it." Not yet, anyway. There were too many ways that it could all go wrong. Let them get to know each other first. Let the bond grow, let _friendship_ grow between them, and then work on something more.

"I saw Takeru while I was out." Leomon's deep blue eyes darkened as he spoke. "He was circling around the Village of Beginnings."

Gennai's head snapped up at that. "Did you inform Elecmon?" The last thing they needed right now was an attack on the village. Keeping those eggs safe lived at the top of their to-do list, with the only item over it being 'find a way to defeat Piemon and Vamdemon'.

"He knows." Leomon nodded, moving closer. "I sent Ogremon and Kentauromon to patrol the area." His lips twitched at the naming of his old enemy. The two of them hadn't had a chance to do much more than spar on occasion, not with the world being in the state that it was. Gennai had heard Ogremon mention more than once that he wanted them to defeat Piemon and Vamdemon just so he and Leomon could fight the way they had once upon a time.

Well, everyone did have their own reasons to join in this war. At least this time they could depend on Ogremon to help them.

"Good. Was there any sign of anyone else with Takeru?" Gennai's shoulders tensed at the question.

Leomon shook his head. "I couldn't see anyone. I think he was alone." Not that being alone would've made it easy, or even possible, for Leomon to take him down and bring him in. Not after ten years of Piemon's training.

"Could you track him back?" For all of his own efforts, Gennai found himself as unable to worm a spy into Piemon's headquarters as Piemon was to find Gennai's own base. Enough good Digimon had died trying to do so that he refused to ask anyone else to do the same.

"I tried, but I think he saw me." Leomon's whiskers twitched a fraction. He didn't like the idea of either losing his edge or one of Piemon's slaves being just that good. Gennai foresaw multiple extra hours being spent in the training room for that.

Gennai moved on toward the kitchen area, Leomon padding beside him. He wanted a cup of tea. He hadn't had a cup of tea all day and tea helped him focus and think.

"They need a place to meet Wizarmon." He didn't expect any kind of answer from Leomon; voicing his thoughts helped him to work through them. "And I haven't been able to get any maps of the area in years."

"Send someone through the portal?" Leomon suggested. "They wouldn't need to stay long."

Gennai considered that. It wasn't the worst idea that he'd ever heard. The problem was, as always, getting someone else to the portal in such a way that the guards wouldn't notice them. So far the few times he'd been able to send someone over, they hadn't been seen, but he knew better than to press his luck too far.

"Perhaps one of the Numemon would go." After all these years, they still adored Mimi, and every one of them longed for some way to help her. If he suggested this would do that, he would have a dozen volunteers before he could blink an eye.

He would prefer someone who could fly, though, in order to cover more ground efficiently. But there weren't many fliers who were also small enough to sneak through without alerting the gate guardians.

At least the Numemon were persistent, and loyal. They wanted their cute Mimi back, and hell itself wouldn't stop them from trying.

"I'll go ask one." Gennai decided. After he had his tea, of course.

* * *

Takeru strode through the palace gateways without so much as looking at the guards. They knew who he was. As one of Piemon's most loyal servants, he could come and go as he pleased, so long as Piemon knew what he had in mind.

And there came his master now. Takeru bent his head reverently. "I've just come from the Village of Beginnings, my lord."

Piemon threaded his hands through Takeru's hair in welcome. "What did you find out there?"

"They're still watching out for us." He reported all that he'd seen; the traps Elecmon had set up to warn him of any physical approaches, the wards that he suspected Gennai had woven to keep them at bay magically, and what he'd spied on his way out: the two new guards wandering the area.

"Good work." Piemon praised, and Takeru's heart beat faster at the seldom given words. "You should go rest. You've had a day of work."

That was true, though Takeru wasn't inclined to admit it. He'd spent most of the day traveling; unlike some of Piemon's servants, he wasn't gifted with the ability to fly. It would make life so much easier if he could. Perhaps Patamon would be able to help with that, sooner or later. They could only hope.

"As you wish, my lord." Takeru decided he would eat later, once he didn't feel so much like dropping into bed and not moving for a few hours.

Piemon nodded and headed off on his own business, perhaps to consult with the other Dark Masters. Takeru knew what wasn't his affair and headed through the twisting corridors until he found his own quarters.

He wasn't surprised to find Yamato waiting for him when he entered and wrapped his arms around his brother gratefully. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes." Yamato's mask was set to the side, something he usually only did when it was just the two of them. Takeru made a point of not mentioning it; he knew how Yamato hated being without it. If they weren't brothers, he wouldn't put it down even for Takeru. He certainly didn't for Koushirou, on those few occasions when the three of them crossed paths.

Takeru tilted his head back to look at the older man. "What happened?" He knew all of Yamato's tones, even now, and something really _was_ wrong.

Yamato said nothing right away. When he did speak, he shook his head a tiny fraction first, then uttered one name. "Enshoumon."

"She came out on top?" Takeru knew of the battles that Piemon had planned out before he'd left. He trusted Enshoumon's loyalty as much as he trusted his own, his brother's, and Koushirou's, but Yamato had never clicked to her.

The taller blond nodded and Takeru squeezed his hand. "Don't worry about it. You know that Master trusts us more than anyone." He paused, considering that. "Well, anyone who isn't MetalSeaDramon, MugenDramon, Pinnochimon, or Black Rosemon." In fact, he was reasonably certain that Piemon trusted them more than he did Pinnochimon. It wasn't a question that one asked, though. Inquiring into someone else's loyalties could bring your own under suspicion on this castle.

Yamato sighed, and shrugged, reaching for his mask as he stood up. Takeru didn't try to stop him. Yamato's visits were never long, no matter what. He kept himself busy constantly, and with someone new rising in the hierarchy, he would do so more than ever.

Before he left, Yamato set a hand on Takeru's shoulder, squeezing it gently. Takeru smiled back at him, trying not to yawn in his big brother's face. He thought Yamato could see how tired he was, which was yet another reason he didn't stay long. That was confirmed by a flip of Yamato's hand toward the bedroom, a clear sign of 'get some rest, you idiot'. Yamato didn't talk much anymore, but he certainly got his point across when he wanted to.

* * *

Yamato closed the door behind him and headed down to his private training area. He'd worked himself to exhaustion once already today and stolen an hour's worth of sleep before he remembered when Takeru was likely to return from his scouting mission. There was no way that he wouldn't spend at least a few minutes making certain everything was all right with his little brother. The habits of years were hard to break, especially when he didn't really want to break them.

He passed a couple of guards on the way, and could not help a mental smile at how they flinched back from him. He didn't even need to do anything for them to do it. Just his presence sent chills down their spines. A thousand stories were whispered about why he wore his strange mask, covering his entire face and throat, and why he spoke only in the briefest of sentences, and never used two words when one would do the job.

None of them were true, of course, and he wasn't going to let on what had happened. It wasn't anyone's concern but his and his master's.

The door to the training area closed behind him and he strode out in the center of the room. He knew this place better than he'd ever known any other in his entire life. He'd spent the majority of his last decade here, sometimes sparring against Piemon, sometimes against some of the warrior Digimon who composed the army.

He pulled his sword from the sheath on his back and spun out into one of the first forms his master taught him. He'd only been allowed a wooden practice blade in those long ago days; now he trained with live steel. Some might claim it too dangerous, but Yamato knew other dangers that were far worse: such as displeasing Piemon.

Soon he would have to go out on a mission of his own. He didn't know what it would be yet, but it would have to be something that would make it clear he was still an effective warrior for Piemon. He knew Enshoumon wasn't as power hungry and greedy as some of the other Digimon were, but he still refused to take any chances. He'd made it to this position by not letting anyone else take it from him and there was no reason to stop now.

He recalled what Piemon and Vamdemon had discussed during the vampire's visit earlier. It was true that Gennai's home hadn't been found, but perhaps he could change that. If nothing else, searching around might make the old man nervous enough to move it, which would give them a chance to find him then. It was something to keep in mind.

That would be his mission, then. He would have to clear it with his master first, and let Gabumon know it was time to go out again, but that wouldn't take long.

He bared his teeth as he transitioned into a more complex sword form, imagining the blade slicing through Gennai. The level of hatred he held toward the old man knew no bounds. This was all his fault.

_Why weren't you there? Why didn't you help us? Why didn't you help __**her**__? And __**him**__?_

The day would come when he would hold Gennai at swordpoint and demand his answers in one way or another. And if he didn't get them, then there would be one less annoying person in the Digital World.

**To Be Continued**


	6. The Evidence

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 6: The Evidence  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,584||story: 15,988  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Taichi dropped down to the broken sidewalk and dug his hands into his pockets, hunching his shoulders over, and started to walk along, his pace a little slower than he liked. He kind of wished he'd known he'd come to this area when he'd first set out; he would've worn something more appropriate. As it was, the shadows hung deep enough that no one could really tell what he had on, or what he looked like.

Which was just as well, since his face _was_ noticeable, and right now, he didn't want it to be.

All he had to do now was wait. He didn't want to wait very long; he wasn't very good at it. But even around here, it shouldn't take all that long.

He'd barely gone down the length of the sidewalk before a gust of wind brought both a sharp scent to his nose and the faintest hint of feet crunching on broken glass and dying leaves to his ears.

"Hey, kid." The voice, gruff yet tinged with worry, floated out of the deep shadows of the alleyway just as he took his first steps closer to it. "This is a bad neighborhood to wander around in on your own."

Taichi held back a grin and ducked his head a little farther down. "Don't have anywhere else to go." A complete lie, but he doubted the other would care. Especially not after he finished with him.

He could see the other as he took another couple of steps closer. The stranger wasn't much to look at, but Taichi wasn't interested in his fashion choices, awful as they were. He supposed humans had to make do with what they could find these days, since the 'wild' ones –the ones who liked to call themselves 'free'- couldn't get hold of whatever they needed to make new clothes. Some of them probably stole what they needed from Vamdemon-sama's supplies, but this one wasn't one of those. Not with tattered jeans that hung to just above his ankles and three sweaters that still were more hole than cloth wrapped around him. His boots looked as if they would be best honorably retired before they actually fell off his feet.

Taichi, on the other hand, strolled around in a well-made pair of black jeans and a gold-trimmed shirt of the same hue. Vamdemon preferred his flock to dress in black, or at least dark colors, the better to blend in with the shadows of the world. Taichi never argued with his master. Overall, he looked fairly healthy and prosperous, a rarity in and of itself in this new world, and one that should've given away his true status.

Some people just couldn't think clearly. All the better for him.

"Nowhere else to go?" The stranger inched out a little, eyes narrowing as he took in Taichi's appearance. "You sure about that?"

He was in range now. The human probably didn't think he was, which made it all the better. "Well, maybe I do." He caught a whiff of metal from the other's direction and held back a smirk. Was it a knife? He hoped it was a knife. It was always so much fun when the prey thought it could fight back.

Taichi shuffled a little closer, apparently keeping his attention more on the ground than on the stranger he was talking to. He wanted to give the impression of a child who scarcely knew what was going on in the world, perhaps someone sheltered and pampered. The more this fool misjudged him, the more fun he would have shortly.

"I've got a place you can go." The human moved fast. At least, he probably thought he did. Taichi suspected there were several Numemon who could probably outrun him if they needed to. As it was, he himself dodged fluidly out of the way and ended up behind the other, grabbing one wrist and finding himself pleased to see a knife in the attached hand.

"Never mind. I won't need it after all." He gripped the human's wrist harder, hearing the crunch of bones. "I hope I don't get any stupider after drinking your blood." Really, thinking that a well-dressed child was anything other than one of the vampire flock? What kind of sheltered fools did this one know?

Whatever kind those were, he would prey on them no more. There would always be idiots who tried to prey on others and Taichi was perfectly happy to make them his prey as well. Or to make their prey his. He wasn't always particular which.

A tiny part of him preferred the predators, those who wanted to harm others. He told himself it was because those were the ones who offered the best chase and the most fulfillment in the end. There wasn't any other reason. There _couldn't_ be any other reason.

He paid no more attention to how the prey struggled and gasped in his grip, only bending the other's head to one side. He almost wished at times that Vamdemon-sama had waited until they were older and taller to turn them. Their strength and speed outclassed any human's with ease, but it would be so much easier if he had another foot of height to work with.

He made do, though. He had plenty of ways to deal with it.

With one quick kick he broke both of his prey's legs, forcing them down to their knees, as well as pulling out some truly horrific screams. Taichi got a better grip on the man's head and struck, burying his fangs into a neck that could've seen a few more washings.

At least his blood still tasted clean. Even in this day and age, there were humans who filled themselves up with alcohol or drugs whenever they could. Perhaps there were even more of them now, seeing an escape from Vamdemon's rule in such things. The vampires had to be careful who they drank from whenever a nest of those types were found.

This wasn't the case now, though. He drank deeply, thoroughly enjoying every drop as his captive's struggles first grew more intense, hands beating a small tattoo on the sidewalk for a few moments before the strength slowly faded and he slumped down against Taichi, unable to move.

This was the part Taichi liked best, when there was still blood pumping through the veins, and no more fight left in his food. He groaned in pleasure at the delicious liquid coursing down his throat and fed full.

Only when there wasn't anything left in the human did Taichi finally stand up and brush himself off. He would have to have his clothes washed when he returned home, but these were his hunting clothes, and he had plenty more outfits waiting for him. Vamdemon kept his flock well-provided with everything they would need and many things they didn't need but wanted. Taichi could no longer imagine what his life might've been like if the master hadn't entered it.

Sometimes he dreamed about it, though. The images were faint and fuzzy, and based more off of his human memories than anything else. He paid little attention to them, considering them the closest thing to a nightmare that he could ever imagine having anymore.

Once he'd cleaned himself up as best he could, he took back off into the air, well-fed and satisfied. He still kept his attention alert for any further signs of that crossbow wielder, but now he decided if he ran across whoever it was, he would bring them to Vamdemon-sama instead of shredding them himself. There was no need to waste good blood, and they might have important information.

He did hope that they tried to go after him instead of one of the flying Digimon such as Wizarmon. It was right to warn one's allies, but Wizarmon might turn the stranger into something useless. Perhaps another turn around the city wouldn't hurt before returning home.

* * *

Sora rested her hand on the small egg, her eyes closed, taking deep and unnecessary breaths. The dead didn't need to breathe, after all. Or undead, in her case, but she wasn't one to be very picky about terminology. She breathed because she chose to, not because she needed it.

She knew the egg would never hatch again. None of these here would. They couldn't; their partners were all dead, after all.

Again, dead. Undead. The word didn't matter. They weren't human anymore and that made all the difference.

Still, the eggs rested. Perhaps they were waiting for new partners. Sora's eyes glinted darkly at the very thought of someone else laying their hands on Piyomon's egg. No matter how far she'd fallen, she would never, ever let someone else touch her partner. Piyomon could stay an egg forever rather than go to someone else.

Perhaps when they managed to capture Gennai, she would be able to find a way for Piyomon to hatch again, and become someone more suited to her as a partner. She'd heard that the partners of those who Piemon took care of had changed their evolutions, and it had to do with their changed priorities.

Of course, for that, they would have to capture Gennai, and everything she'd heard from the spies on both sides of the gateway told her that wouldn't happen any time soon. She hated that very thought; how could they not find him? How did he remain hidden after all these years? What could he be doing to keep all of Piemon's people from finding him?

Leaving the small closet where the eggs remained, and making certain to lock it behind her, she paced her way to her own office, where the reports from the spies rested, waiting for her to look through them. If anything gave them a bit of information that could be of any use, she would find it. She'd done it before, putting together the scattered bits of what they knew in order to find what they needed. Or who they needed. Or wanted.

The screams of her mother echoed in the back of her mind, but Sora knew better than to think about them. They were nothing more than vague memories anyway. Seven years was more than long enough to get over something like that.

She read through the reports, none of which offered any of the information that she wanted it to. Koushirou handled much of this on his side of the gate, checking over what Piemon's spies gave to them. She headed Vamdemon's network, a vast array of humans and Digimon who kept their eyes and ears open for every form of information, in exchange for food or medical care or whatever else Vamdemon deemed a worthy price.

She did stare at one particular document, eyes narrowed in thought. Something wasn't right here, but she couldn't put her finger on just what it was. Something about the movement of supplies in certain areas. What would people in the city need with fertilizers? Especially ones of this strength?

_That's usually reserved for the farmers._ The lack of sun meant that those crops that still grew needed to be tended carefully, usually with large lamps that imitated sunlight. The vampires stayed away from there, but that didn't mean they weren't watched over. Several of Vamdemon-sama's most loyal warriors lived on those farms and made certain the farmers didn't get ideas. They grew that food for the humans who lived under Vamdemon's reign and that was their sole purpose in living.

Or that was how it was supposed to be. Those wild humans who still lived in various areas, insisting they wouldn't ever submit to an alien invasion, stole crops on occasion. They knew not to destroy the farms; they didn't have anywhere they could grow anything for themselves and if they wrecked everything, there wouldn't be any food at all.

At least, that was how it had been for years. If these people were now trying to grow their own…she couldn't yet piece together what it might mean, not without information she didn't have yet.

_They would be less dependent on us, for one thing._ She considered what that could mean. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing; it would mean their own supplies wouldn't be raided as often. But why would the wild humans try this now, after all this time?

She pulled her thoughts together carefully. She couldn't be entirely certain if those humans were the ones who were trying to get the fertilizer or not. She would have to check into this more personally. It could just be an error in transport somewhere. It wouldn't be the first time this had happened, and if that was what it was, she doubted it would be the last.

Nevertheless, she _would_ check into it and bring it to Vamdemon-sama's attention. It would be up to him what to do about the situation.

She took another look to see just where this was centered at and again her lips turned downward. _Well. A coincidence?_ It could be. But she would keep a very close eye on what was going on there in Odaiba.

One always did want to watch over one's hometown, after all.

* * *

Vamdemon didn't spend quite as much time with Piemon as he might've wanted to. There were many ways they could spend their time together, but they did have to tend to business before they could turn to pleasure, and tonight pleasure had no time at all.

He'd make up for it another day. For now, once the two of them spent a few hours searching futilely for Gennai, he crossed back over the gateway to return to his castle. He needed to alert his spies and have them keep a watch on anyone who might attempt to send a message of any kind through there. Whatever Gennai was up to, it wouldn't be allowed to succeed.

That meant a stopover to speak with Sora. Before he could open her door, she did it herself, blinking up at him a moment before she bowed her head respectfully. "Vamdemon-sama. I was just about to come looking for you."

He raised one eyebrow. "Is something the matter?" If any renegades, human or Digimon, turned up, she would be the one most likely to find out about it first.

Going over everything she pointed out to him and what he knew about what Piemon told him and what little they'd picked up during the course of their travels through the Digital World didn't give as much information as they would've wanted it to. Vamdemon knew the wild humans were likely to steal things from him merely to make certain he didn't have it for his own use, or those who served him. They didn't necessarily have to be trying to create their own farms.

Matters took a somewhat different turn, however, when Taichi strolled into the room, bending his head quickly toward his master. "I found out something _really_ interesting tonight," his favorite scion declared, lounging against the wall. "We should probably get Mimi and Jou in on this, too."

Something that concerned all of his flock? Vamdemon's awareness peaked at once, and he sent out a mental call for the last of his Children. He hadn't been this curious, or this interested in something, since the day the last of the Chosen fell to his and Piemon's efforts. He could only hope that whatever this was, it was at least that interesting.

**To Be Continued**

**Notes:** To clarify: Taichi, Jou, Sora, and Mimi were all turned during the time of Digimon Adventure, so they are physically ten to twelve (Jou was twelve, Mimi was ten, Taichi & Sora were eleven). So, they are physically exactly the same as they were then. They've mentally grown up to some extent, so much as you can when Vamdemon controls you and you're an undead blood-drinking vampire. Yamato, Takeru, and Koushirou were taken in by Piemon and have continued to age and mature at a normal human rate, so they are twenty-one, eighteen, and twenty, respectively. Hikari has lived ten years imprisoned by Vamdemon and while her body has grown (somewhat), she's got a lot of isolation issues. Among others that will become more apparent in time.


	7. The Memories

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 7: The Memories  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,778||story: 18,766  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Dozens of voices rose in a cacophony of protest, agreement, rage, and fascination, none of them able to be discerned from the other. Osamu rubbed one hand over his face, trying to keep his headache down and not having much success in doing so.

"Be _quiet_!" Ken finally snapped, his violet eyes blazing with unaccustomed fire. Osamu couldn't help the flinch; his brother stood right next to him and he had the full force of Ken's shout. Ken very seldom raised his voice at all, and dead silence fell now when he did.

He also didn't wait for anyone else to say anything. "Osamu told us what his contact wants: we're going to make contact with a Digimon who is on _our_ side, not theirs. We are supposed to trust this Digimon and work with him to accomplish our goal of destroying Vamdemon and taking back our world." He looked all around at the gathered rebels; Osamu wondered if it had been such a good idea to let them all know about this.

_Too late to change it now._ This did put them at risk; he thought there weren't any traitors in their midst, but one could never be too careful. He couldn't think of too many actions they could take that didn't put them at risk for traitors, with the way Vamdemon and his vampires could control minds. They just had to do the best they could.

He returned his attention to the meeting in time to see Ken's arms folded over his chest. "When we go to meet this Digimon, there will only be a small, select group. He won't come here. He won't even be told where this place is." There wasn't any room for argument in his tone, and Osamu held back a soft smile at his brother's determination.

"So who gets to go?" Someone, Osamu couldn't place their name right away, called out from the depths of the crowd.

He wasn't surprised when Ken had an answer right away. "I will. So will Osamu, Miyako, Daisuke, Iori, and Jun." His attention turned to two of the older people there. "Shuu, Shin, would you keep an eye on matters here while we're doing this?"

"Of course." Kido Shuu nodded, as did his older brother. Osamu wasn't surprised at the selection, either. The six of them worked together more than many other groups did, and there were some who wondered if they could read one another's minds, especially where Ken and Daisuke were concerned. Osamu doubted that; they just happened to get along very well.

"So, where exactly are we going to meet him at?" Iori asked, a hint of concern in his serious green eyes. Osamu at times wondered about this child; at sixteen he was one of the youngest in the entire resistance, and yet he'd seen the boy on the practice field. If he struck a Digimon full on with blade or kendo stick, then that Digimon would feel it. He couldn't be sure if it would be enough to actually destroy the creature, as none of them had yet managed to do so, but he hoped they would find out soon enough. This resistance was still in the beginning stages.

Ken looked through some of the information in front of him. "There are three places that are being considered. One of them is the old elementary school in Odaiba."

"That's not very safe. There isn't much left of it and it could fall apart if someone gave a good sneeze," Miyako pointed out, checking her own notes.

Ken nodded, flipping through pages. "What about the gardens? So far as we know, Vamdemon's forces don't even know where those are."

Osamu held back a hint of a smirk there; he'd been busy diverting fertilizer and seeds from Vamdemon's enslaved farmers to make certain they could create farms of their own so they no longer had to depend on stealing food from their enemies. There were too many chances their thefts could be found out and they could either be tracked or poisoned. Being self-sufficient gave them a better chance to do something.

"Then he wouldn't know how to get there," Iori reminded them. "And it wouldn't be smart to let him know."

Every reason to keep away from Digimon altogether surged back into everyone's head at that. Finding one of them who could be trusted was all but impossible. Rumor had it that there _had_ been some, those partnered to the Chosen Children, but no one had seen them for years. No one even knew if it were actually true or not.

Ken thumbed through the information again and stopped one more time. "What about the old Fuji TV building? It's kind of battered, but it's not ready to fall down just yet and there are plenty of places that we could hide if we needed to." Which also meant there were places for Digimon to hide if _they_ needed to, but they would still have a better chance of getting out of there safely.

Soft murmurs of consideration and thought whispered among those who had the most interest in where they were going. Finally Jun said it. "I think that's got the best chance."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Daisuke agreed with his sister, and Osamu added his own nod of approval.

Once everyone threw in agreement, Ken rose to his feet. "Osamu, let your contact know what we've decided on, and if it's agreeable to this Digimon. Then we can start pinning down _when_ to do this."

* * *

Daisuke carefully set out each of his new bolts, checking over the sharpness of the heads. He wanted to go out again tonight and try his best to find one of Vamdemon's slaves. _Any_ chance of killing one of the enemy needed to be taken in his opinion.

"Think you're going somewhere?" Ken's voice rang from the door. Daisuke didn't look up but picked up another bolt and examined the edge.

"I know I am. It's been three days already." He'd been stuck inside all of those three days, on the excuse that his scent could've lingered in the area and a vampire could track him from that alone. "It rained last night. _Huge_ thunderstorm. No scent left."

"I know." Ken didn't move from where he stood, and Daisuke could feel those violet eyes scorching into his back. "You're still not going."

"Why not?" Daisuke's voice grated with inactivity and annoyance. Shooting bolts at stuffed targets didn't do anything for him at all. "What's wrong with going out and trying to do something?"

Ken stepped into the room and set one hand on Daisuke's tense shoulder. "Because you're not just trying to do something."

Daisuke ground his teeth before he turned to look at his friend. He wanted to shout. He wanted to scream. He wanted to say anything to deny him, but the way Ken's finger traced across two long healed puncture wounds on his throat stopped the words in their tracks.

"You still want to find Vamdemon. Not one of his pack. You want him."

Memories Daisuke fought to keep at bay flickered and whispered through the back of his mind, of a day years before…

_It was a pen, nothing more, nothing less. Ghost-like creatures carrying scythes floated all around, keeping their attention on the people held there. Daisuke tried to avoid being seen, which wasn't that easy, since everyone was trying to do the same thing._

_Movement, from somewhere outside of the pen. Daisuke tensed, nails digging into his palms, as the guards (he didn't know what they were called and he didn't care, they were __**scary**__, that was what he knew and cared about) shifted closer. One of them was close enough to where Daisuke curled up for the ten year old to hear it speak._

_"How can we serve you, master?"_

_Daisuke stifled a squeak. That word could only mean one being was there. He hadn't heard Vamdemon's voice very often, but he recognized it anyway._

_"I'm too busy to hunt tonight. Bring me someone. Preferably someone who can put up a little bit of a fight." That voice sent chills all through Daisuke and he swallowed harshly. He hoped they would find someone else…someone who wasn't him. Anyone who wasn't him. There were so many people here who weren't him…_

_Arms enfolded him from above and he started kicking and squirming right away. "Will he be suitable, Vamdemon-sama?" The Digimon who held him asked, keeping a tight grip on him. Even as he asked, Daisuke found himself carried over the heads of the others, and he could see relief in their eyes, that __**he**__ was the one who was chosen, and not them._

_Anything he might've thought about that vanished out of his mind a moment later as he was dropped in front of the vampire overlord. A firm hand gripped his hair and yanked his head back, revealing a pair of blue eyes staring thoughtfully at him._

_"I think he'll do." Vamdemon declared, scooping Daisuke into his arms. As much as Daisuke tried, he couldn't break that grip. He wasn't sure if he could have even if he'd not been ten years old and not very well fed for the last two of those years._

_What he did know was that Vamdemon carried him away as if he were nothing more than a package he'd picked up from somewhere, paying no attention to Daisuke's screams and struggles and insistence on being put down._

Daisuke drew in a sharp breath and pulled away from Ken, staring back down at the bolts in front of him. Taking out Yagami Taichi would indeed be a coup for the resistance, and a great first strike, but taking out Vamdemon himself…that was something more personal. That was something he'd dreamed of since the moment Vamdemon's Phantomon carried him over to the vampire, and dedicated himself to from the moment he'd felt Vamdemon's fangs biting into him.

"I'm going out." Daisuke wasn't going to give ground on this one. Even if he never actually saw a vampire, he just needed to get out of there. Being outside reminded him that he didn't live in a pen anymore, or worse, in that small, far too lushly decorated room next to Vamdemon's. "I'll be back before midnight."

Whatever else Ken might've wanted to say, he didn't. The two of them understood each other, even when they disagreed. Ken had his own demons haunting him, ones that didn't need outward scars to remind him of them. Just looking at Osamu could make it happen. Daisuke himself wasn't entirely certain of why, but it did happen, and maybe one day when all of this ended, Ken would trust him enough to tell him.

Daisuke slipped the rest of his bolts into the carrying case and fastened it into the holder on his back. Ken still said nothing, simply standing there next to him.

"Be careful." That was all he said when he finally broke the silence. "Remember what I've told you."

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Just take one shot, and make certain it's the only one that you need. I know, Ken, I know."

Ken's fingers brushed ever so lightly against Daisuke's cheek, and the redhead turned to look at him. A familiar silence fell between them, one that stretched onward until it reached an awkward state that Daisuke couldn't stand.

"See you when I get back." He snatched up the goggles, wormed his way around Ken and headed down the hall, telling himself that the way his heart beat so much faster was because of how he anticipated finding one of the vampires, not because of the way Ken stared at him.

* * *

Ken followed Daisuke with his eyes until the other was out of sight completely. He resisted the urge to follow him on the security monitors after that, choosing instead to head to the training area. With this upcoming meeting between the resistance and the Digimon their contact wanted them to know, he needed to be in top shape.

So did all of the others, which was why he hadn't argued very strongly about Daisuke going out. He knew full well how much Daisuke needed fresh air and freedom around himself, and now that he had the crossbow and the night-vision goggles, he was that much safer going out.

That didn't mean Ken didn't _worry_ about him, perhaps just a little more so than everyone else when their missions took them outside of their hidden headquarters.

No one knew exactly how long Daisuke had spent as Vamdemon's personal blood supplier, not even Daisuke. Time didn't mean a whole lot when you spent all of it locked up in a small room. Ken knew that Daisuke had been provided with books of every kind and subject, but no freedom to go outside, unescorted, the way that he really wanted to. Vamdemon wanted him in the peak of condition, so he'd walked him. On a leash.

Ken would never forget seeing _that_ for the first time, nor the surge of rage through his veins. Before, all of his anger at the monster that destroyed their world had been cold, icy, calculated. Seeing Vamdemon walking Daisuke inflamed his blood as nothing ever had. That wasn't right. It could never be right.

_He and Osamu liked to sneak out and explore whenever they could. It was dangerous and they both knew it, but after they'd come so close to losing each other years earlier, they wanted to spend as much time together as they could. If that meant risking their lives, then so be it. At least they would go together, if it happened._

_Now, creeping through the shattered city, underneath the gray mantle of clouds that never lifted, they looked for anyone who was human and who hadn't bent their knee to the monsters that invaded their world._

_There were far more of those than Ken liked, but there wasn't anything he knew that he could do. Finding the ones who hadn't mattered more. Deep in his soul he dreamed of founding a group that could fight back and end all of this. He didn't know how, he didn't know when, but the idea of doing so burned bright._

_Osamu's hand closed on his wrist and Ken froze where he was, all fantasies vanishing as he refocused on what was going on in front of him. They stood in the shadow of a building and Osamu's urgings pulled them back just a little more. Ken frowned, before he caught sight of movement ahead of them._

_It was him. Vamdemon. The twisted monster himself, and he had…he had a __**human**__ with him? A boy who looked around Ken's own age, but smaller, less well-fed. He wore dark clothes of a better make than Ken remembered seeing in a couple of years, and around his neck…_

_Around his neck was a collar, with a leash going from it to Vamdemon's hand._

_Ken forgot everything he'd ever known about cool, quiet logic. A human on a leash, being walked like a pet. He didn't even know he'd started out until Osamu's hand tightened on his wrist and he stopped._

_"That's wrong. We have to get him away from there." Ken whispered the words into his brother's ear and Osamu nodded, understanding in the motion._

_"We can't right now. Vamdemon is too strong for us. But we'll do it."_

_Ken believed in his big brother, no matter what. He looked back at the boy being walked, and whispered under his breath. "We'll come get you."_

* * *

Ken prepared himself for a sparring session; Iori stood not that far away, as calm and collected as he himself was, and ready to do battle. Ken pushed all thoughts of the past out of his mind; he had to focus on the now, for multiple reasons. They'd saved Daisuke, though he'd certainly put in enough of his own efforts to saving himself. Now they were making the first real steps towards defeating Vamdemon. It would be done.

"Do you trust this contact of your brother's?" Iori asked as their sparring sticks clashed against one another.

"I'm going to have to, for this to work out." Ken reminded him. They would all have to. What other course did they have? Getting spies into Vamdemon's castle would be hard enough on their own. Adding in what they would have to do to get some into Piemon's, if they could even find a way to cross the gateway, would be worse. Sooner or later, they would _have_ to trust Digimon. It had to start somewhere.

**To Be Continued**

**Note:** I'm still not certain if Ken & Daisuke will end up a pairing, but I won't rule it out, either. Also, Fuji TV is where Wizarmon died in the actual anime.


	8. The Questions

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 8: The Questions  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,667||story: 21,433  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

She couldn't be bored. Being bored required having interests in the first place, and after all this time, hers had faded away. She remembered complaining about being bored when she was younger, and being given bright colors to play with. She missed those days, just a little.

She stared up into the murky rafters overhead and wondered what was going on in the world outside. What was it like now? Were any of her friends still around? She couldn't remember their faces, but she hoped they had it better than she did.

It was sometime in between lunch and dinner. She knew that much of what time it was no more. That didn't mean it was afternoon, since she had no real way to judge what a clock would've said. But it was all she had to look forward to.

She tilted her head a fraction to see LadyDevimon seated outside of the bars. As happened now and then, the dark Digimon held a look of sorrow turned toward her. It wasn't one marked by tears or even a frown, but she knew the other didn't like her being here. Or liked being here herself.

She had no idea of how she knew that. But she'd always been able to read the other's emotions, just as she had those of the cute cat who'd been here before. Maybe it came from only having them to interact with for so long?

Slowly she shifted herself so their eyes met a little more openly. She swallowed once or twice, trying to force her lips and throat to work the way that she should. Talking was so _hard_ now. She had to fight to remember how to do it.

"You…look sad." Her heart, shriveled and weak from long years of disuse, still reached out to someone who needed her.

LadyDevimon didn't flinch, but the sorrow vanished from her features at once. Not from her, though. The prisoner knew that just as well. "What would you know of that?" There was distance in her tone. She didn't want anyone knowing how she felt. That wasn't surprising, not with the way Vamdemon treated his people.

"I know about being sad." Her words held hesitance and confusion, but also truth. She knew what it was to be sad. She thought she knew it better than being happy. "Why are you?"

She wasn't sure if she expected an answer or not. She didn't even know how long she could keep this up. Once she'd shouted and screamed in rage, until her voice broke and she could do so no longer. Then once she'd healed, she'd done it all over again, repeating it until the lack of answer and echoes bouncing back drained away her desire to even try. But now, that faint urge to speak, to communicate with someone else, the only person who ever saw her or gave even the vaguest hint that she cared, took deep root and lifted its head.

"Because…I have to be here. With you." Her voice dropped low, as if to keep this from being heard by anyone. "And I don't want to be."

The captive's voice wavered briefly as she dredged up words again. "Is it really that bad?" She knew it was for her; she'd had a normal child's life before ending up in here. She'd had a mother and a father and a…she'd had a …she'd had people who cared about her and who she missed even now. She'd never really thought too much that LadyDevimon might also lose something by being her eternal guard.

"Yes, and no." Something that might've been a smile tapped briefly at the pale Digimon's lips. "It's not a hardship punishment. Guarding you is meant to be an honor for my years of loyal service." She hesitated, as if forming her thoughts. "But I wish you didn't need to be guarded."

"So do I." She dropped her gaze, fingers tracing ever so lightly across the thin blankets beneath her. "I wish I knew why I was."

She didn't know. She'd never known. She knew that …_he_ came back home one day and held something in his hand that…glowed? She thought? The memories were vague about what happened then. The names that Vamdemon called her didn't make any sense to her. She hadn't been clear-headed enough to understand any of it until after she ended up here in the first place, and after that, most real information stopped cold, at least about her.

LadyDevimon's scarlet eyes turned toward her, and there was a sudden stillness, as if the world held its breath, waiting for something. "I could tell you."

Today perhaps was a day for awakenings. She shifted more, rising up. "You can?" A tiny nod, little more than the merest inclination of her head. "Will you?"

No answer. Not for a period of time that stretched out forever between them. "I shouldn't. Vamdemon-sama doesn't think you need to know."

The prisoner drooped her head. Of course. Anything that would make her more than a prize kept locked away from the world would be denied to her. He could've done _anything_ with her, even to killing her, and he chose instead to keep her here. A spark waved briefly to life in her deepest soul.

_I'm going to kill him one day._ She knew how unlikely it was. She'd had dreams as a child that she thought would come true long before this one did. But it sparked an image that she held onto with strength she'd forgotten she had.

She looked at LadyDevimon again. If she couldn't know the reasons for being here, maybe she could know something else instead. "What can you tell me? About anything?"

She didn't hunger for news of the outside. It wouldn't mean anything to her. She ached to hear someone else's voice, telling her things that she didn't know, whether they were true or not. She would've settled for bedtime stories, in all honesty.

"I would take you flying, if I could." LadyDevimon spoke after more long silent moments. "There's another world with blue skies and air unlike this world's. My home: the Digital World."

She'd heard of it, from some of the other Digimon who worked here. They never spoke to her, but they spoke among themselves, and she'd listened, and remembered. "What's it like there?"

"I don't know anymore. I haven't been there in years, and I've heard of many changes. Vamdemon-sama's partner, Piemon-sama, rules there now. He didn't when I was there before." LadyDevimon trailed the tips of her claws across the stone wall. "Some of the o…the Chosen Children serve him now."

Those words flickered in the depths of her mind, trying to find something to connect to, something she recalled in a voice she hated. His voice. Vamdemon's voice. "What else?" She didn't want to press. She thought if she did, LadyDevimon would cease to speak at all, and she didn't think she could handle the silence right now.

"I wandered across it many years ago, before I met Vamdemon-sama. I was alone then. Waiting for someone who never came." LadyDevimon did not look at her, but the captive's heart twisted at the pain in her words anyway.

"I wish you were waiting for me. I would've come for you." The idea of waiting all that time and not finding the one person you looked for…what could happen to someone like that? What had happened?

LadyDevimon's lips curved for a heartbeat or two. "I wish that too." She leaned her head back and stared up at the ceiling as well. "But that was a long time ago. You don't have to worry about it anymore. I don't."

"What else would you do, if we could do it?" She didn't say 'together', though the very idea of seeing someone who wasn't LadyDevimon sent a chill all through her. What would it be like, talking to other humans? Or even other Digimon? Surely they couldn't all be like Vamdemon. LadyDevimon wasn't. The little cat hadn't been.

Again moments passed before there was an answer. "I would take you somewhere to eat. I know of a restaurant run by a Veggiemon. He serves some of the most delicious food ever."

Her stomach didn't rumble. She couldn't imagine better food than what she had now being given to her. She knew it existed, but the thought of eating it again, eating something more than the tolerable slop that filled her plates wasn't one she could easily think of. She smiled, though. Flying. Eating good food. She liked how LadyDevimon thought.

Slowly she curled around herself, the sudden strength that led her to speak draining out of her. She had good images in her mind, and memories that would sustain her for a while longer.

Then something else occurred to her, and she twisted around once more. "LadyDevimon…do you know my name?"

The silence that descended this time rang of tension and pain. LadyDevimon drew in a breath that didn't break any of it.

She knew that she had a name. Sometimes she thought she even remembered it. But not having _heard_ it directed toward her in all these years made it little more than a wisp of memory that she could never hold onto. It wasn't something that mattered, because she never could do anything. Names were for people who did things, not someone who sat in a cell day in and day out.

"No. Vamdemon-sama never told it to me." LadyDevimon didn't look at her at all, and the prisoner wondered for a moment if she were being told the truth.

It didn't matter. Her name wasn't that important.

* * *

_Hikari. Your name is Hikari. Yagami Hikari, the Child of Light._ LadyDevimon wanted to tell her that with all of what remained of her heart, to sweep her out of here and do everything that she'd just talked about. Yet if she so much as made a move to do it, Vamdemon would be aware, and they would both suffer for it. She would be destroyed in such a fashion that her egg couldn't regenerate and Hikari would be given a new guard, one who would not care to give her the small moments of hope, few and far between as they were, that LadyDevimon managed to worm in there.

Why, after all this time, had the child chosen to ask about what they might do? Why had she wanted to know these things? She'd gone months without speaking, and her voice showed it, a dry, cracking, dusty thing, swallowed up by the silence of the cells. LadyDevimon couldn't help but be surprised she'd even been able to speak in the first place.

_I should report this to Vamdemon-sama._ She knew she should . She made no movements to do so, and knew that she would not. Despite his demand to know everything that happened with the imprisoned Child of Light, this didn't seem important enough. A few vague questions, from someone who only exited the prison for display purposes? It wasn't worth mentioning and the last time she'd seen him, he'd had far more important matters on his mind.

"…LadyDevimon?" As always, that voice calling her name was unexpected, as well as hesitant, as if he wasn't certain this was what he wanted to call her.

That didn't surprise her. Some days she wondered if it was what she should be called at all. But she never knew what else she should be.

"Wizarmon."

He stood in the shadows of the doorway, where Hikari couldn't see him. If she heard him, she didn't make any movements to indicate that. He wasn't forbidden to come here, but very few had permission to interact in any way with Vamdemon's prized prisoner. LadyDevimon would gladly report that he hadn't spoken to the human at all. He never did, anyway.

"It's been a long time." She hadn't counted the days, but she thought it had to have been at least a few weeks. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He shrugged, his green eyes cautious as he watched her. "I've little else to do at the moment. My experiments are all at a point where I don't need to watch them, and I've completed my duties for the evening."

She envied him now and then. Unlike her, he spent at least some portion of his time outside of the castle. It was only on meaningless patrols, but at least he could leave. She would never say anything of the sort, though. This _was_ a prized position and she wanted no one else to have it.

"What sort of experiments have you been doing?" LadyDevimon found it difficult to speak to others on occasion, but she'd never had that lack when it came to Wizarmon. There were moments she felt as if she knew him on a different level from everyone else. It made no sense, but it happened, nevertheless.

"Metal transmutation, more than anything else." He shrugged as if it meant nothing to him. "I've managed to master transforming iron and steel, but changing what I turn it into back isn't easy."

She wished that she knew more of magic, if only to understand what he worked with better. She didn't know why he worked the spells that he did, but it would likely come in handy if they needed to fight humans again at some point.

"It might not be necessary if you can do it. Humans had armor plated weapons when we first fought them."

"You're quite right." Wizarmon nodded, though she couldn't believe he hadn't thought of this himself. He was probably humoring her. "How have your days been?"

The dark Digimon shrugged, her attention flickering back to where Hikari rested. "The same as always. There aren't many changes here."

"So I've heard. But that's what's wanted, isn't it?" Wizarmon tilted his head a fraction so he could see around the corner. LadyDevimon tensed at that, but he made no further moves.

"It is." Her claws scraped briefly across the stone of the wall. "Is there any other news from above?" She wanted to believe Vamdemon-sama would tell her if there were anything truly important going on, but if she couldn't do anything about it, he might keep it from her, to keep her from worrying.

Wizarmon said nothing for a few moments, and she had the definite impression he was choosing his words with the greatest of care when he did speak. "Nothing that would interest you."

"Try me anyway." LadyDevimon ached to find out what was going on. She knew their conquest had been successful; she'd attended enough celebrations to know that. But what else was going on? What happened in the Digital World? The last she'd heard Piemon and his Dark Masters still searched for Gennai, even as they tightened their own grip on the world.

Wizarmon still took his time before he said anything. "I was told about some human attacking one of the pack. But very little has come of it that I know of. Some of the humans must still think they can fight back."

LadyDevimon stirred a trifle; people challenging Vamdemon's rule? Hadn't all of the rebellion been crushed out of them? Perhaps humans were stronger than she'd thought.

It would explain a great deal about Hikari and her sudden, if brief, revival. Even after a decade, she understood little about humans.

"Vamdemon-sama will finish them." Wizarmon added, and LadyDevimon nodded; there would likely be a great many hunts, and possibly another celebration, one that Hikari would be trotted out and displayed for. All the Digimon knew she was the Child of Light and supposedly one of those who would've fought Vamdemon, if he hadn't defeated them all before she'd ever heard of the Digital World.

"I'm certain he will." He'd done it before, and to opponents far stronger than anything this world could currently produce. If the Chosen couldn't win against him, who could?

**To Be Continued**


	9. The Search

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 9: The Search  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,631||story: 24,064  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Wizarmon made his way up the slick stone steps that led away from the dungeon cells. He didn't look behind him, though every part of his heart urged him to do so, to have one last look at LadyDevimon. He didn't listen. They were not friends; no one in Vamdemon's army had friends. Too much hung in the balance now for him to act even the smallest bit out of character. He'd told her too much already when speaking of his experiments.

_I shouldn't have said anything at all about those._ He needed to stop coming down here anyway. Spending time around her made it easier to talk, and harder to remember why he shouldn't.

He fought to maintain every bit of his composure, turning his thoughts resolutely to the meeting that would occur in just a few days. Finding a safe space hadn't taken as long as he'd thought it would. Soon, for the first time in years, he would actually speak to humans whose loyalty wasn't completely Vamdemon's. They would actually begin to forge a way to defeat the vampire lord.

Some part of him expected this to all end up as a trick or a dream. Perhaps he'd let something slip and not realized it and Vamdemon spun all of this in order to expose him as a spy. The only evidence he had of safety was that Gennai arranged this meeting, and that wasn't good enough. All of his information said that Piemon didn't know where Gennai's base was. If Piemon had found it, then it would make sense to lie about it, in order to lure the spy in for capture.

He couldn't spend all of his time fretting about the risks that the meeting posed. He needed to get ready for the meeting itself. If it were a trap, then he'd deal with that later. There were still slightly better chances that everything was just as Gennai said it was, which meant the long years of waiting were finally over.

What would free humans be like? He'd encountered so few before the invasion settled in and became an occupation, and most of them ran screaming from him once they knew what he was. He didn't expect them to like him, but toleration would do for now.

They definitely wouldn't be like the poor Child of Light. Yagami Hikari, that was her name. He kept it close to him, as he did all the names of those who'd once sought to fight against Vamdemon and his ilk. They may have failed and been broken in various ways, but he remembered what they'd been before. Someone had to. They certainly didn't.

He wouldn't let her stay there. He'd made his mind up on that long ago. But without somewhere he could hide her where the vampire pack wouldn't be able to trace her scent, without convincing LadyDevimon to go along with it, without being able to get into her cell and get her out without the other guards being alerted, he hadn't been able to accomplish it. That was why he'd studied transmutation, working to master the spells to make one thing become something else.

Even if he hadn't mentioned that to LadyDevimon, he knew for a fact that when he broke Hikari out of there, he would be the first suspect, just for the fact he'd done it with magic. There weren't very many of those in Vamdemon's army that had the skills to do so. The whole idea of being so obvious pained him, but his options were not the best. So long as he managed to free her, and LadyDevimon, and keep them somewhere safe until Vamdemon's reign fell, he would be satisfied.

It would also be convenient if Vamdemon came down with a sudden case of wood poisoning and reconfigured himself, but Wizarmon didn't trust to that much luck. He also wasn't certain that staking Vamdemon would actually kill him in the first place. Perhaps crushing his egg might, but that would require beating him down to the point he was an egg at all.

"Wizarmon."

Wizarmon brought his staff up by instinct, eyes narrowing, before he saw who stood a short distance away. At once he lowered his weapon and bowed gracefully.

"Vamdemon-sama." His heart pounded faster; of all those he could've met here, his so-called liege lord wasn't close to the top of the list. If anything, he occupied a permanent spot at the bottom of it. "How may I be of service?"

"Come with me." Vamdemon didn't look to see if he obeyed, but turned and stalked along, his strides brisk and sharp. Wizarmon followed, focusing his mind into patterns of calm he'd learned years earlier. They didn't always work, especially when he was around Vamdemon, but he needed to try anyway.

Luck was with him, to some extent. Vamdemon didn't ask him questions or even attempt to engage him in anything like a conversation. Wizarmon's cautious mind didn't like that, no matter how relieved part of him was. It only made him wonder what the vampire had in mind. It wasn't often that they spoke to one another, and he couldn't imagine why Vamdemon would wish to do so now.

At last they arrived at Vamdemon's destination: a simple, elegant sitting room. The four members of the flock lounged around in comfortable chairs, casually chatting with one another. Nervous cold sweat trickled down the back of Wizarmon's spine. Seeing the whole flock together never boded well.

Vamdemon strode over to an empty chair, far more elaborate than the others, and sat down. Wizarmon at once knelt before him, going over his inner calming rituals with more intensity. One wrong word, perhaps even a wrong thought, and all that he'd fought for ended here and now.

"Taichi tells me that he spoke to you of the crossbow user who he encountered some nights ago."

Wizarmon nodded, keeping his features set to a hint of confusion, nothing more. "This is true, Vamdemon-sama." He would tell nothing that he didn't have to, and no more than he was asked.

"You've patrolled the area since then?" Another nod in answer, but nothing more. "Have you discovered anything else?"

Now he shook his head. "I explored that region in an attempt to find the crossbow bolt itself, in case it could tell us anything. But there wasn't any sign of it. The crossbow user most likely retrieved it." And good for whomever that was. It showed some sense, at least. He hoped he had the chance to talk to them when he met with the resistance.

"That storm the other night wiped out their scent trail." Taichi spoke up, a furrow between his eyebrows. "If it weren't for that, I could've found them." "Perhaps." Vamdemon shrugged. "Wizarmon, your magic might be able to tell us what his nose cannot. Taichi, take him to that area and see what you can both find. Anything that can lead us to whomever this might be will be useful."

Wizarmon's heart clenched tight. He almost wished that he had been uncovered. At least that would only truly bring down himself, while this put many others at risk.

"As you wish, Vamdemon-sama." He wanted to believe there wasn't any trail, at least none that he could find. But he had to try to find it, no matter what.

The vampire overlord gestured them away. Taichi sprang to his feet and Wizarmon rose up, turning for the door.

"Taichi, feed before you go. We don't need a repeat of that night." Vamdemon spoke before they could depart. The brunet rolled his eyes, making certain to do so with his back turned to his master. Wizarmon couldn't have been more grateful for his hat and cloak, concealing the small smile that touched on his lips just then.

"All right, I'll go have a snack. Meet me outside, this won't take long."

Wizarmon knew where he was going; the vampire pack kept pens of humans they could use when hunting was bad or they didn't feel like hunting at all. Very few had ever escaped from those pens, and most of those who had ended up being caught and bled dry within a few weeks anyway.

For all of that, those humans were kept in excellent condition, given room to move around in, and fed better than the wild humans that still roamed the cities. Wizarmon sickened at the thought of it.

He took the time between leaving the meeting area and exiting the castle to compose himself and focus on what he would need to do. While Vamdemon himself knew some magic, Taichi and the rest of the herd hadn't been taught anything of the like. But whatever he did would make its way back to the master sooner or later, which meant he had to move with caution.

_I can't keep this up forever._ He'd already worked himself into an emotional frazzle over the long years. He'd never expected this to go on as long as it had. Sooner or later he would slip. He knew it.

A light breeze ghosted through the castle courtyard, sending a swirl of fallen leaves skittering across the cobblestones. Wizarmon wondered at times where the castle had come from; it hadn't been here when they'd arrived. Vamdemon and his troops had taken refuge in whatever human buildings they'd been able to find then. But shortly after the conquest was secured, the castle rose up in all of its barbaric splendor. It mirrored Vamdemon's castle as it had once been in the Digital World almost to the letter.

"Ready to go?" Taichi landed next to him, a faint trace of red still on his lips that he didn't bother to wipe away. "I hope you can find something. I've got a few words for whoever it was that tried to shoot me."

Wizarmon bent his head. "I'll do my best." He had a few words as well, mainly involving how to shoot more accurately and which parts of a vampire were the most vulnerable.

He chose not to say that out loud, however.

The two of them took off, soaring past the guards at the front gate with little more than a wave. The vampire pack had permission to come and go as they pleased, and being with Taichi granted Wizarmon that same privilege, for tonight.

Neither of them spoke until they arrived at the district the aborted attack had taken place in. Wizarmon looked around, sketching out what he would need to do to get this search begun. He hadn't practiced tracking spells very often, nor had he needed to. If he failed to find anything, and perhaps if he succeeded, he would use that for an excuse.

"Need me to do anything?" Taichi landed on a branch, his fingers digging casually into the trunk of the tree. Wizarmon shook his head.

"This shouldn't take very long." He hadn't decided if he wanted it to or not. But he began, closing his eyes and focusing his thoughts on what images and impressions that he could gather from the area.

The wind, still kicking up dust and leaves and whatever pieces of trash littered the area here, just as it had back at the castle, now smoothed out, leaving nothing but a deadly silence all around. Wizarmon worked his fingers in the movements of the spell, searching for information. He not only had made a serious study of this, he'd never done it in this world at all. That made quite a difference; magic worked in its own ways in each world and part of what he'd spent most of his time studying here had been how to recreate many of the spells he'd known how to do in the Digital World.

"Anything?" Taichi asked, looking around to the four corners of the compass. "This is getting boring."

"I'm sorry. I can't speed this up." Wizarmon grunted the words out, fighting to focus harder. He'd managed to catch a few threads of someone who wasn't Taichi and who seemed to have a great deal of hatred for vampires in their soul. That did cover a great deal of the population of the planet in general, but hatred this deep, in this area, could only be from the attempted hunter.

Somewhere, a pebble bounced and a sudden gust of wind brought a hint of human on it. Wizarmon and Taichi both stiffened, and Wizarmon swore to himself. He would've expected the hunter would return to the area sooner or later. But why did it have to be now?

"You keep going. I'll check on this." Taichi lifted off from the tree and ghosted away, circling around to where the sound and scent came from. Wizarmon wished the crossbow wielder, if that was truly who it was, the best of luck and kept himself bent on his task.

The longer he searched, the more certain he was that the arrival was indeed that same attempted hunter. The scent of hate was stronger since that light sound, and he began to pick up the faintest of images. He couldn't entirely be certain of what they were, only that they formed the foundation of the hate.

_Is that Vamdemon?_ He couldn't keep enough of a grip on the images, not with his lack of mastery of the spell, to know for certain but he thought it was. It wasn't much of a leap to make; anyone who hated vampires enough to try to kill them likely hated Vamdemon most of all.

Wizarmon pulled himself out of the spell and straightened up, his limbs strained and creaking from having been nearly frozen for too long. He would need to spend some time on the training field to work these aches out. His skills didn't lie in physical combat, but the mage who refused to at least go jogging now and then would be more of a handicap than a help on the battlefield.

"Taichi?" Wizarmon gripped his staff more tightly as he looked around. A sensation prickled down his spine; he hadn't been able to find out everything, or even very much at all, about the shooter, but he had a feeling he knew where they were. It wasn't a clear one and he had to concentrate to get more than the sensation of being watched, and right now, he couldn't be sure if it was because of the remnants of the spell or because the archer really was there watching him.

No answer came from the vampire, and Wizarmon strained harder in his attempts to see something. Anything. He wasn't very particular, as long as he could get some sense of what was going on.

One footstep, clear as could be, then another. It wasn't Taichi; the vampire wouldn't have bothered to set foot to ground when he could be more maneuverable in the air. The wind settled again, and Wizarmon wished that it didn't. His nose couldn't compare to that of some Digimon, but it would've helped to get a better sense of who was around and who wasn't.

Footsteps, faster and with more purpose, sounded, and Wizarmon whirled in the direction he heard them coming from, and wasted no time. Regardless of what he felt or wanted, he had to be Vamdemon's loyal warrior for now, and that meant defending himself from attack. With a single spoken word, fire erupted from the tip of his staff, circling all around him. A quick wave sent it forward, in the direction the footsteps came from, and Wizarmon couldn't make up his mind on what he wanted to hope for, victory or defeat.

The scream that echoed a heartbeat later didn't give him any of the answers he wanted either.

**To Be Continued**


	10. The Sparring

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure/02  
**Title:** Reign of the Undead King: Chapter 10: The Sparring  
**Characters:** Chosen Children, Piemon, Vamdemon  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,565||story: 26,619  
**Genre:** Supernatural, Drama||**Rated:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I am currently undecided on if there will be any romance in this story at all. If there are, there is an equal chance they will be m/m, m/f, or f/f, and could range from human/human to human/Digimon to Digimon/Digimon. There have been canonical character deaths in the past of this story and I feel there will be more in the future, though since I'm kind of making this up as we go along, I can't be entirely certain. I'm not going to rule it out, though. Of course, with vampires in the mix, death isn't always the end.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Random AU Competition, Divergent AU, Vamdemon, Piemon, & Chosen Children] Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.

* * *

Piemon didn't like reading over reports. He knew it was necessary for the proper running of an empire, but that didn't mean he liked it. That was what he had servants for, anyway. They read over the reports and told him what he needed to know, if anything. He busied himself with what truly mattered: keeping his unruly horde of minions in line and preventing the Digimon from uprising and overthrowing his domination.

He also enjoyed spending his time practicing with his weaponry, hunting for Gennai and his idiot band of do-gooders, and sampling fine wines, especially the ones Vamdemon sent him from Earth. He seldom turned down the chance to read a good book as well. It was hard work ruling an empire. He deserved what pleasures he could save for himself.

With practiced care, he ran the edge of one of his swords against the sharpening stone. His Trump Swords didn't actually need to be sharpened like this; being forged of digital steel gave them an edge that never needed improving. But he liked the sound it made, and more than once he'd used it to keep lesser beings like Pinnochimon in line.

At least he had when Pinnochimon was still around. Where _had_ the little fool wandered off to? Piemon didn't know, but he cared only in the sense that the puppet was indeed an Ultimate level Digimon, and power like that needed to be tamed and contained, not allowed to wander as he would.

Perhaps he'd have Koushirou look up the idiot. He'd had others look for the former Dark Master before, but the redheaded human was a master of finding others through the network. He still hadn't found Gennai, but Piemon knew well that the old warrior would be more likely found by accident than design. So far those leads the young man had spoken of had failed to pan out properly.

He made a note to himself to assign Koushirou to the search for Pinnochimon and continued to tend his blades. He still remained mildly surprised that taking in three humans, three who would've worked and fought against him under any other circumstances, had worked out so well. It had taken some time and effort, of course, to get them to where they _would_ be as loyal as they were to him, but he'd had the time and he'd been more than willing to put in the effort.

In his opinion, he'd done a better job with these three than Vamdemon had with his four. Vamdemon destroyed their humanity entirely, replacing them with four hollow shells filled with bloodlust and fake smiles. Piemon took ten years to raise three fine children, each of whom was as loyal to him as could be.

He suspected that if they had the chance to return to the human world and seek out their families there, they would take it, if only for closure on that part. But he'd already made plans in that event. They were _his_ and he would never let them forget that.

Piemon rose to his feet suddenly, sending his sword back to where the four of them rested when he didn't need them. He didn't care to just sharpen them mindlessly; he wanted to put his weapons to use. And since there were no Digimon in range who he wanted or needed to shred to their digital bits, there was only one other option: to find someone to spar with.

He knew just who he wanted, as well. He'd trained Yamato for years, once the boy recovered from his injuries, and knew how he moved as well as he knew himself. Yet there were still moments with the young blond could surprise him.

He wasn't at all surprised to find Yamato moving through one of the more difficult fighting forms when he arrived at the training room. For the first few minutes he simply stood in the shadows and watched, noting places where Yamato needed to improve his work or where he'd already improved from the last time they'd sparred against one another.

Piemon knew that he would want an assignment soon, something to prove his dedication and loyalty, something to show how much _better_ he was than Enshoumon. He'd suspected that would happen ever since she began to rise up in the ranks. Yamato wouldn't stand for anyone else to take his position in _anything_.

"You're doing quite well." Piemon chose just the right moment to step out onto the training mat, hovering a few inches above it. Actually walking on floors wasn't something he did on a regular basis. He considered it more of an intimidation technique than a way to get from point A to point B.

Yamato whirled the moment the first word fell out of his mouth, and bent down on one knee without hesitation. "Master."

Piemon nodded, not touching Yamato in praise the way he would Takeru. The younger blond enjoyed the physical affirmation of his approval, while Yamato simply accepted a few words as accolades.

There were times Piemon wondered if human parents had to worry about these things as much as he had. Raising children of any species could turn one's hair white.

"Stand up. I have something new to teach you." He'd made a point to never teach Yamato _everything_ that he knew, and to encourage the boy to develop his own style. He didn't want a mirror image of himself in human form wandering around. There could be only one of him. He imagined his enemies would agree with that as much as he did. Yamato was his student, his enforcer, and his minion, not his reflection.

Yamato was on his feet a moment later, and while his features remained hidden by his mask, his eyes betrayed his excitement. He said nothing else; not that Piemon expected him to. One point he'd always regretted about the attack that scarred Yamato was the loss of the blond's proper voice. Always an appreciator of the arts, Piemon wondered what his singing voice would've sounded like now that puberty had finished having its way with him.

Piemon drew out his blades and began the first part of the lesson. Both of them were already warmed up, and it didn't take long before their swords clashed against one another, sparks flying. Piemon knew well how much strength he could use against the other, and how much Yamato would use against him. He pressed forward, pushing the other to either step back or move around, then darted over to prevent that route of escape.

Yamato had definitely grown in strength since the last time they fought one another. Piemon approved; he would need all the power he could muster to finish Gennai off when the time came. The leader of the Dark Masters knew quite well how much hatred for Gennai burned within Yamato's soul, and never failed to take a chance to fan the flames higher. He hadn't inspired them, but he encouraged them frequently over the years.

The new move he had in mind featured more than just strength, but involved agility and speed as well, factors Yamato held just as much as he did strength. Piemon knew if he didn't master it now, it wouldn't be for lack of trying. It would come in due course. Yamato was not one to give up something that might give him an advantage on the battlefield.

Piemon showed him the move over and over, until sweat dripped from both of them, and Yamato had to fight to breathe without strain. Yamato did all within his power to duplicate it, and managed to do so, though not yet with Piemon's mastery of it, before the Digimon overlord called a halt to the proceedings. He'd successfully occupied his time and now dinner's hour approached.

"Master." Yamato spoke as soon as he'd caught his breath, busy wiping the sweat off with his handkerchief at the same time. "Mission."

Piemon did not hold back his smile. "Did you have something in mind?" He liked Yamato choosing his own tasks. It showed an eagerness to please that Piemon found quite thrilling.

He was also not surprised when Yamato nodded. The other had likely thought about this before he'd even considered opening his mouth. With as few words as Yamato spoke these days, he tended to make those as meaningful as he could.

"Gennai."

Piemon tilted his head. "Koushirou's clues haven't amounted to much. Do you think you can do a better job?"

Yamato's lips curved upward into a light smirk. "Yes." Oh, there was definitely a plan forming behind those cold blue eyes. Piemon approved. He approved so very much.

"Very well. Take what you need. I think I can manage without you for a few days at least." There wasn't much that he needed Yamato to do anyway, and Takeru could take up the slack while his brother was away. The two of them tended to trade off like that as it was. Yamato would also trust Takeru not to try to backstab him, a trust that he extended to almost none of the Digimon around the palace.

Yamato bent his head obediently, and headed out a heartbeat later, once Piemon gave a quick signal of dismissal. Piemon looked forward to seeing what he could return with. If nothing else, there might be a few interesting tales about enemy Digimon disposed of to regale them all with. Though knowing how Yamato worked, it would likely be Gabumon telling them instead of the blond.

Piemon smiled as he wended his way toward his own quarters. He wished at times that he could get his hands around the throat of that Flare Lizamon again. Perhaps this time he would drown it before shredding it down to its component data. Or perhaps even better, he would turn it over to Yamato and let him wreak his own vengeance on the creature that damaged him so much. He would like to watch that.

* * *

Leomon spun, slamming the sharp edge of his blade into the sparring dummy's neck deeply enough that if it were a living creature, it would surely die. He rested there for a few seconds before wrenching his sword out. It wasn't enough. It couldn't be enough, not yet.

_I need better sparring partners._ He could not be sure if he'd ever be able to go up against Piemon himself, but he trained with that thought in mind. Piemon was known far and wide as one of the greatest swordsmon the Digital World had ever known. Anyone who dared face him needed overwhelming strength, skills, or luck. Preferably all three.

For the last ten years or better, luck had been in extremely short supply, and strength and skills hadn't been much better.

Leomon checked the edge of his blade before he returned it to the sheath. It would do, for now at least. He would tend to it with more care before he took his rest. Until then, he needed something more to let out his nervous energy on.

If Ogremon had been there, he would've challenged the other to a match. They both would've enjoyed it, for different reasons. But his counterpart was needed still at the Village of Beginnings, and there were few others who could match him here.

He made up his mind on what to do in a heartbeat. If there wasn't anyone around here he could spar against, then he would find someone out there who he could fight, be it a not-so-friendly spar or actual combat. Depriving Piemon of any of his warriors was always a worthwhile goal.

Not to mention it would give him something to do that wasn't sitting around and waiting for reports from Earth to come in. He trusted Gennai's choice in spies and in getting Wizarmon to work with the humans there, but waiting for all of that to happen grated on his nerves far too much. He preferred action himself.

There were times when he wished that he could've gone to Earth, and could face Vamdemon directly himself. All of this was his fault, once the cobwebs and misdirection were swept away. If he'd not touched the humans who now served as his vampire pack, then none of this would've happened. He didn't know what would have, but it would be better than what they did have. If only because he had no idea of how it could've been any worse.

Focusing his thoughts away from there, Leomon sprang out of one of the concealed exits to Gennai's base, and strode briskly through the woodlands, keeping every inch of his attention on the alert for any Digimon who might be in the area. He hoped that none of the smaller ones had seen him coming out; they'd kept Gennai's location a secret all this time only by be exceedingly careful when and where they left and how they returned. A single Digimon looking in the wrong direction at the wrong time could bring it all down upon them.

If he hadn't known any better, he wasn't certain if he could've told that the Digital World remained under Piemon's thumb as firmly as it did. While the world had been twisted for years, there were still areas that reminded him of File Island and how the Digital World looked in its glory days.

Leomon made sure to range relatively far from the exit before he set himself to looking seriously for any of Piemon's warriors to confront. He refused to fight any of them near the exit, not wishing to risk anyone getting an idea of where to look for the hidden mansion. What little information they had from the inside of Piemon's workings told them that Koushirou, former Child of Knowledge, spent a great deal of his time trying to find them, and countering his efforts took time.

His ears twitched suddenly, and Leomon pressed himself against the nearest tree. He'd heard footsteps, measured and wary, the pace of a hunter. He didn't think it would be Takeru, not so soon after the encounter at the Village of Beginnings. But there were others high ranking in Piemon's hierarchy who might be in the area, and Leomon hoped this was someone who could give him a good battle.

The wind wasn't in his favor; he couldn't get any sort of scent of who it was. He didn't move, not sure if they had the skill in reading scents that he did. With it not being in his favor, it was in theirs, and he preferred to keep what little advantages he could find.

What he heard was little more than the movement of feet through the grass. No stray twigs or branches broke under this person, which argued against it being Piemon, who would not set foot to ground willingly. Leomon didn't yet know if that were good or bad. A chance, no matter how slim, to take the evil Digimon out could not be turned down.

He tilted his head up and saw a branch reaching out above him, one wide and strong enough to support his weight. He didn't think about it for another moment, but leaped upward, claws digging in and holding on tight. Attacking from behind wasn't his preferred method, but he could see who this was first, and make his plans from there.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
